AI-generated image
Gbegiri (Yoruba bean soup)
Gbegiri: Oyo's silky, golden soup of peeled black-eyed beans, palm oil and locust beans
Order amala at any buka in Ibadan or Oyo and the server will ask "abula?", meaning a ladle of gbegiri and a ladle of ewedu poured side by side, usually crowned with a spoon of pepper stew. Gbegiri itself is smooth, mellow and earthy: peeled black-eyed beans cooked until they fall apart, beaten to a cream and simmered with red palm oil and pungent locust beans. Many cooks add ground crayfish or smoked fish; this is the meat-free way, which loses nothing of its velvet texture. Serve it with amala and ewedu or spooned over boiled yam. The mistake to avoid is leaving bean skins in, which turns the soup grey and gritty, so rub and rinse until the beans are white. Chef's tip: whisk the cooked beans with a balloon whisk or the traditional ijabe broom rather than a blender for the lightest, fluffiest gbegiri.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 14 oz black-eyed beansdried
- 6 ¼ cups waterplus extra as needed
- 1 onionchopped
- 4 tbsp red palm oil
- 1 tbsp locust beansiru or dawadawa, rinsed; or 1 tsp white miso
- 1 tsp ground dried chillior to taste
- 1 vegetable stock cubecrumbled
- 1 tsp salt
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Soak 14 oz black-eyed beans in cold water for 30 minutes until the skins loosen. Rub handfuls hard between your palms, then flood the bowl with water so the skins float off; pour them away and repeat until almost all the beans are white.
40 minStep 2: Put the peeled beans in a pot with 6 ¼ cups water and 1 onion, bring to the boil and simmer, half-covered, for 45–50 minutes until they are completely soft and collapsing. Top up with hot water so they stay just covered.
50 minStep 3: Whisk the beans vigorously in the pot (or mash through a sieve) until they form a smooth, pale cream with no whole beans left. Add a little hot water if it is thicker than custard.
Step 4: Stir in 4 tbsp red palm oil, 1 tbsp locust beans, 1 tsp ground dried chilli, 1 vegetable stock cube and 1 tsp salt and simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't catch, until it turns golden orange and glossy.
10 minStep 5: Taste and adjust the seasoning, then serve hot alongside ewedu and amala.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 310 kcal
- Protein
- 15 g
- Carbs
- 40 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 9 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gbegiri (Yoruba bean soup) take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 65 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Tiyula itumBlack beef soup
Tiyula itum, 'black soup', is the pride of the Tausug people of Sulu in the far south of the Philippines, cooked for weddings, Eid celebrations and when guests come home. Beef (it is a halal, pork-free dish) is simmered with ginger, lemongrass and turmeric, then darkened with pamapa itum, a paste of grated coconut toasted until almost black and pounded with spices. The broth looks dramatic but tastes smoky, earthy and gently peppery, with heat from chillies. Serve it with plain rice. Chef's tip: toast the coconut slowly, stirring all the time, until it is very dark brown but not ashy; burnt-to-ash coconut tastes bitter and ruins the soup.
Filipino
Ful nabitSprouted fava bean soup
Sprouted beans are ladled out with their cooking liquor in Cairo homes when the weather turns cold or someone is feeling run down, and Egyptians swear by the broth as a pick-me-up. The beans are soaked and left to sprout for a few days, then simmered with onion, garlic and cumin into a light, earthy soup that is sharpened at the table with plenty of lemon. You can eat the beans with a spoon or pop them from their skins. Allow 3 to 4 days for sprouting, although the hands-on work is only about 20 minutes. People with G6PD deficiency (favism) must not eat fava beans. Chef's tip: stop the sprouting when the shoots are about 1 cm long; longer sprouts taste grassy and bitter.
Egyptian
Miso soup
Miso soup (味噌汁) is drunk every day in homes all over Japan, at breakfast as well as dinner, beside a bowl of rice. The base is dashi; this vegan version uses kombu and dried shiitake instead of bonito, which gives it a deep, rounded flavour. Silken tofu and wakame seaweed are the classic fillings. It takes ten minutes; just remember not to boil the miso. Chef's tip: add the miso at the very end and never let it boil. Boiling kills the miso's fresh, fermented aroma; Japanese cooks say the soup should only 'smile', with the surface barely trembling.
Japanese