How to make Moin Moin in Cabbage leaves

It was Tuesday evening and I got back home pretty late 8 pm. I had earlier called home and requested that the beans be washed and blended. I headed into the kitchen at 9 pm to try out this fresh take on Moin Moin . By 9.45pm it was ready and pretty, Moin Moin in Cabbage.
*Mscheew the things I will do for food passion.
Moin Moin is one of those widely consumed Nigerian dishes .. Goes well with pap, rice, drinking garri etc. When you are thinking of light in the Nigerian sense this is one dish to aim for.

Wrapping Moin Moin in leaves is something I learnt as a very young girl… How could you not with a mum like mine….Mma bless you, but those moments of grinding the beans on a grinding stone was not fun at all. So I really do like the versions wrapped in leaves. But hate the part of unwrapping the cooked Moin Moin from the leaves and the mess. But that is not really the point of going the cabbage route. To be honest I was just looking for something fresh to do with beans . It turns out that I have Moin Moin that also has vegetables with it giving me more fibre . And guess what , I can hold the Moin Moin in Cabbbage and have it as Sharwama without soiling my hands. Above all it is simply pretty.

Recipe of Moin Moin in Cabbage

Ingredients
1 cup Brown black eye Beans ( washed and peeled )
1/2 cup flaked steamed Mackerel Fish
1/2 cup diced Fresh Shrimps
2 cooking spoons Tomato/ Pepper blend
1 teaspoon Ginger paste
2 cooking spoons vegetable oil
Crayfish seasoning to taste
Salt to taste
Cabbage leaves for wrapping

Method for making Moin Moin in Cabbage

1, Blend the beans till smooth with very little water. A good tip is to wash your beans the night before, soak in water and leave in the fridge and it will be easy on your blender.
2, Heat the oil, fry the onion, tomato/ pepper. Add the fish, shrimp and seasoning. Taste for salt and correct seasoning. Cook the stew until tomato sourness goes off.
3, Pour the stew into the ground  beans , add the ginger and mix well.
4 Add a little water to beans if too thick. Consistency should not be runny either.
5, Peel  off Cabbage leaves and wash. Use large cabbage leaves to make wrapping easy. To make the leaves easy to bend soak in hot water for just 1 minute and cool off immidiately in cold water.
6, Cut up strings to use in tying each Moin Moin parcel
5, Scoop Moin Moin mix onto cabbage leaves. Fold up the the thick part up and fold down the soft upper side. Tick in the sides to close up the parcel.tie the parcel gently with strings
6, Place on a steamer and steam with out letting water touch the parcels directly. Allow to cook for about 45 minutes
7, Take out parcels, allow to cool a bit and serve with the  cabbage leaves
8, You may want to pair the Moin Moin with tea or Ogi.

Cooking tip: Its important that the cabbage parcels are cooked with steam and not dipped in water. Whist you may not have the Chinese vegetable and rice steamer, you can sufficiently raise your Moin Moin out of water by placing the parcels on a raised platform in the pot. Add water a little at a time.

 

 

 

 

Watch how to make Moin Moin in traditional leaves: