Ewedu and Beans Soup

I grew up in Lagos and so I am quite familiar with the foods in southwest of Nigeria. Does this mean I like all of them? No not all. I have tried without success to bring Amala, one the foods commonly eaten by the Yorubas to my menu but I’m just not liking the taste and smell. When I have to eat one of the typical Yoruba soups, Ewedu and Boiled stew combo I opt for pounded yam or whole wheat meal. Talking about Yoruba soups, why would one need three pots to cook one soup …. Gbegiri, Ewedu and Obeata.? Guess it’s all about the culinary diversity in Nigeria.
I have taken the liberty today to make a soup which has the same taste as gbegiri soup, but I did it my way, I completely skipped the separate gbegiri pot and incorporated the puréed beans in the stew (Obe ata)
I decided to still retain cooking the Ewedu separately, but with my twist….I added ground crayfish, and roughly ground pepper. I could actually eat the Ewedu on its own as I found this to be a lot tastier than the regular bland ones I eat at parties. So here is my Ewedu and Black Eye Beans Soup.

Recipe 

4-6 pieces Goat meat
1 cup blended Tomatoes+ deseeded Tatashe+Onion( boiled till water dries up)
2 cooking spoons Palm Oil
1 tea spoon Iru( fermented locust beans)
1/2 teaspoon dry Pepper
1 tablespoon ground Crayfish
Beef Seasoning to taste
Crayfish Seasoning to taste
1/4 cup Black Eye Beans(de hulled, cooked and blended)
1/4 cup Ewedu leaves( plucked, washed and chopped into pieces)

Method
Black Eye Beans Soup
1, Season the goat meat with salt, dry pepper, beef seasoning and a little onion.
2, Steam meat until almost cooked.Add one cup water and continue to boil.
3, Add the blended tomato mixture, palm oil and seasoning and boil for about 20 minutes
4, Add the Iru and boil for another 5 minutes
5, Add the blended boiled beans and cook for another 5 minutes. The purpose of the beans to bring some additional thickness to the soup.
6, Serve the beans soup with the Ewedu and wheat. Meal or any other swallow of choice.

Ewedu Soup
1, Boil 3/4 cup water, add the crayfish, dry pepper and crayfish seasoning and salt to taste
2, Add the Ewedu and stir , cook for about 3 minutes