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Beans and Ogi Breakfast

Also known as Beans and Ogi Breakfast (Budget Northern Style)

Beans and Ogi is a complete, nutritionally excellent budget breakfast that combines boiled seasoned beans with corn porridge (Ogi) for a morning meal that provides protein, complex carbohydrates and sustained energy at minimal cost. This combination is particularly common in transition-zone communities between Northern and Southern Nigeria where both bean and corn traditions intersect, and is a staple of Nigerian boarding schools and budget canteens across the country.

Beans and Ogi Breakfast, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 1 big cup of honey beans or brown beans, soaked overnight and boiled until soft
  • 1 cooking spoon of palm oil
  • 1 big handful of ground crayfish
  • 2 Atarodo, blended
  • 1 medium onion, sliced
  • 2 seasoning cubes (Knorr), crushed
  • Salt to taste FOR THE OGI:
  • 1 big cup of Ogi powder
  • 3 to 4 glasses of water
  • Sugar or honey to taste
  • Evaporated milk — optional

Method

  1. 01

    Cooking and Seasoning the Beans. Drain boiled beans. Heat palm oil in a pan. Add sliced onion and fry 2 minutes. Add blended Atarodo and fry 3 minutes. Add beans, ground crayfish, seasoning cubes and salt. Stir and cook 10 minutes on medium heat until flavours are fully combined.

  2. 02

    Making the Ogi. Dissolve Ogi powder in cold water until smooth. Pour into boiling water while stirring continuously. Cook for 5 minutes until smooth and at desired thickness. Sweeten with sugar or honey. Add evaporated milk if using.

  3. 03

    Serving Together. Serve the warm seasoned beans in a bowl alongside or on top of the hot Ogi. Eat together — alternating between the porridge and the beans.

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