Ukwa Beans (Peeled Beans Porridge)

Naming food is one way that helps my three year old madam identify or distinguish some food. I either coin a name my self like this one or she looks at a food and tells me what she thinks it is. So, she calls small rolled eba “Pompom” if you remember my post on Oatmeal Pompom with Okro Soup. We jointly named the  Moimoi in cupcakes but she knows better now and actually laughs when I say it telling me “It’s  not cake, it’s Moimoi”

This peeled beans porridge looks like Ukwa (Breadfruit), a delicacy from the Eastern Nigeria of mostly the Anambra extraction…mouthful explanation just to explain a dish. It is also a highly proteineous meal and requires little or no ingredients to make a simple version, just like beans. Ukwa is normally expensive, so it is mostly eaten as a special delicacy.

I started making this peeled version of beans when I noticed the back of the beans does not digest in my baby’s system. I peeled some beans to make Moimoi and it occurred to me to cook some. The outcome was really lovely and delicious. Adults are not exempt from eating this porridge, when they can eat moimoi, also made from peeled beans.

So, you can make this as a baby food or just as another way of cooking beans for the family. You might even get your ‘fussy eater beans hater’ to start liking beans. Take it a step higher by adding sweetcorn or ripe plantain, cooked with it or fried as a side. you can also add flaked fish or whole fish to make it more nutritious. Get more pictures of other ways to enjoy beans on Mummy’s Yum Instagram and Facebook pages.

Ukwa Beans (Peeled Beans Porridge) Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of peeled beans (Black-eyed or Brown Beans)
• 2 tablespoons palmoil
• 1 medium onion – thinly chopped
• 2-3 tablespoons ground crayfish
• Chopped vegetables (green, ugu, spinach)
• 1 seasoning cube, salt and pepper to taste – Omit for purely baby food.
• Water for cooking

Method:

1. Put beans in a pot and add water up to the level of the beans. Add the chopped onions then put on heat and boil. Try not to cover your pot completely because once it starts boiling it will bubble and spill over.
2. Cook until beans is soft and do remember to keep topping up the water level while it’s cooking.
3. Add palm oil, crayfish, seasoning and pepper, if using. Stir and check for taste before adding the salt. Reduce the heat and allow it to simmer for some minutes.
4. Finally add the chopped vegetable, stir and remove from heat. The vegetable will cook well with the heat fro the pot.

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