Amala and Ewedu

My craving amala and ewedu started back in August but in the middle of all my moving i just couldn’t bring myself to make it. So many things kept coming up but yesterday I put my foot down and decided finally that i needed to reward myself with this amazing meal. The first time i ever tried this meal was back in Queens College. I was one of those students that snuck out of school briefly to buy things to eat and this happened to be one of those trial dishes for me. I went to the Mama put (local restaurant) across the street without a bowl for takeaway and ended up buying the ewedu and stew in those black nylon bags. The lady doubled the bag for extra protection so the soup wouldn’t leak. I had very fond memories of it so I decided to start making it. I have seen the more traditional way of preparing the ewedu by people picking the leaves and pounding it with a broom and I also have the cheat way of doing it by buying the already frozen leaves and blending it. If you live outside Nigeria and you don’t have an African store nearby, the chinese grocery stores may have it. It’s called jute leaves so check in their frozen food section. The sauce/stew is like my beef stew recipe except you substitute the vegetable oil with palm oil and use a little more beef stock so the stew is slightly watery. You can also add other proteins to your stew and other parts that Nigerians enjoy very much like; beef tendons, cow skin, cow foot, tripe etc. Anyway I have rambled for a good portion of this post so I am just going to go straight and say how I make my Ewedu. Enjoy!

Recipe for Ewedu

Ingredients (Serves 2)

A handful of frozen jute leaves (1/4 pack) – ewedu leaves (I would guess a very small bunch)

1 teaspoon of Iru (fermented locust beans)

1 teaspoon of blended crayfish

a pinch of salt (optional)

Method

Blend the jute leaves and pour in a pot.

Pour in the iru, blended crayfish and salt.

Stir in the pot and do not cover through out the process

Boil on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes

Serve with your stew and amala. Remember 1 tablespoon of the ewedu would be enough for one person that is just trying out this dish for the first time. Feel free to indulge in more if you feel confident in the taste.

Would you eat amala with chopsticks? 🙂