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Abula

Also known as Abula (Yoruba Mixed Stew — Gbegiri + Ewedu + Obe Ata)

Abula is not a single dish but the magnificent combination of three distinct Yoruba soups served together over Amala — Gbegiri (smooth bean soup), Ewedu (jute leaf draw soup) and Obe Ata (Nigerian red pepper stew with assorted meat). When these three soups combine in the bowl around a mound of Amala, they create a layered, complex, multi-textured eating experience of extraordinary depth.

Abula, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 2 big cups of honey beans, soaked and peeled
  • 2 cooking spoons of palm oil
  • 2 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 2 Atarodo, blended
  • 2 seasoning cubes, crushed
  • Salt to taste FOR THE EWEDU (Jute Leaf Soup):
  • 4 big handfuls of fresh ewedu (jute) leaves
  • 2 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 1 Atarodo, blended
  • 2 seasoning cubes, crushed
  • Salt to taste FOR THE OBE ATA (Red Pepper Stew):
  • 5 big tomatoes, blended
  • 3 Tatashe, blended
  • 3 Atarodo, blended
  • Half a medium chicken and big handful of assorted beef, cooked
  • 3 cooking spoons of vegetable oil or palm oil
  • 2 big handfuls of ground crayfish
  • 3 seasoning cubes, crushed
  • Salt to taste

Method

  1. 01

    Making Gbegiri. Cook peeled beans with onion until completely soft. Blend until smooth. Season with palm oil, crayfish, Atarodo and seasoning cubes. Simmer for 10 minutes until creamy and thick. (Full recipe: #035)

  2. 02

    Making Ewedu. Wash jute leaves. Boil briefly in stock. Whisk vigorously with ijabe broom or blend briefly. Season with crayfish, Atarodo and seasoning cubes. (Full recipe: #036)

  3. 03

    Making Obe Ata. Fry blended peppers in oil for 25 to 30 minutes until deeply cooked. Add cooked chicken and beef, crayfish and seasoning. Simmer 10 minutes. (Full recipe: #038)

  4. 04

    Assembling the Abula. Place a generous ball of freshly made Amala (Recipe #103) in a wide, deep bowl. Ladle Gbegiri over one half of the Amala. Ladle Ewedu over the other half. Spoon Obe Ata generously in the centre with a piece of chicken or beef on top.

  5. 05

    The Abula Experience. The three soups will flow and mingle together in the bowl around the Amala — this merging is deliberate and desirable. Eat by pinching pieces of Amala and dipping through the combined soups.

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