Nigerian Beans with Sweetcorn

Adding sweetcorn to beans is another favourite way of enjoying beans porridge, apart from using plantains to make it or peeling off the skin to make ukwa beans.

Sweetcorn are tender seeds with a delicious sugary taste that makes it loved by kids. If left on their own, they may probably pick all the corns and leave the beans for you.

Beans is a good source of protein  while sweetcorn is one of the finest sources of dietary fibre, in addition to containing some antioxidants and vitamins. It is equally a complex carbohydrate, so the combination is surely a healthy one.

Growing up, I learnt to drain the first water off while cooking beans, reason being that it helps to reduce flatulence associated with eating beans. I cannot verify the truth in this age old myth but still keep to it when i feel like.

Sweetcorn and Beans Porridge Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Nigerian brown beans
• 2 cups sweetcorn
• 2 medium onions – chopped
• 3 tbsp crayfish
• 11/2 cooking spoon palm oil
• 1 seasoning cube
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water for cooking

Method:

1. Soak beans overnight in water or for at least a few hours, it helps to reduce the cooking time (You don’t need to do this if you are cooking with a pressure cooker).
2. Wash and put to boil. Once it boils, drain that first water out and add fresh water to begin the cooking.
3. Add the chopped onions and seasoning cube to cook with the beans. Keep topping water in small quantities until beans becomes soft to the touch and water level is same with the beans.
4. Add the palm oil, crayfish, pepper and sausages.  Keep cooking without stirring the content to prevent it from burning. They should rest on top and slowly simmer down. Also reduce the heat to medium if required.
5. Once the water level is halfway the top and bottom of the beans, stir to combine the ingredients and check for taste. If you want the beans mushy, you can use a wooden spoon to stir and mash it along the edges of the pot.
6. Finally add the sweetcorn, stir, do a quick taste check and remove from fire.

Note: The porridge should still be a bit watery after cooking, otherwise it will become hard and dry after a little while. Leaving it watery allows it to absorb the water and still retain it porridge look if serving later.

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