Just like your car needs your investment of time and resources for better performance or your favorite wig needs to be appropriately maintained to retain that first glow, your body also needs your time, care, and help to function in the best capacity to serve you better.
The reasons you should eat proteins are numerous, and many people have protein preferences. An excellent and healthy source of protein is beans.
Some people often think of “Beans porridge” when they hear beans, but we aren’t talking about bean porridge.
We will talk about the tasty Nigerian food “Moi-moi,” which is still made of beans, and I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Moi-Moi.
What is this Moi-moi dish?
Well, for those of you who have no idea what Moi-moi food is about, I will briefly explain. Moi-moi is a native Nigerian delicacy made primarily from beans .
The beans are seasoned with peppers, tomatoes, onions, and other condiments. This dish is enjoyed by a lot of Nigerians.
Being a traditional delicacy, it is prepared in a lot of different ways that are convenient for different people.
Some people prefer to use different kinds of leaves(e.g. banana leaves) or nylon, and for some, aluminum foil is preferable.
Its method of preparation also varies as some people like to bake theirs while some prefer to make it the traditional way by cooking in a pot of boiling water until it’s properly done.
Its name is pronounced differently by different people owing to mother tongue influence; some call it “Mai-Mai”, others spell it as “Moin-Moin”, whatever the case may be, I’m sure they are all still referring to this bean cake pudding popularly known as Moi- moi.
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How to prepare Moi-moi
Before we go into the whole procedure of making this food, let’s know it’s ingredients. To make Moi-moi, you would need:
1) Beans: Being the primary ingredient for this dish, we have a variety of beans in the local market. We have the white beans ( black eyed peas and brown eyed peas), the African honey beans and the brown beans.
Chefs and food enthusiasts advise to use either the white beans variety or the African honey beans for its taste and nutritional value but most people just go for the beans flour available in supermarkets.
2)Peppers: if you want a more savoury dish then consider intermixing pepper varieties like the ata rodo ( scotch bonnet) and habenaro epper or any other pepper combination.
3) Seasoning cubes: You can use any cubes whose taste you like.
4) Salt: Every dish needs a little salt to taste
5) Oil: you can either go for the vegetable cooking oil or the traditional red palm oil.
6) Onions: This just has a way of adding flavour to your dish
7) Fish, eggs or beef: these are not compulsory but they would be a wonderful addition.
8) Crayfish: you could go for Crayfish seasoning cubes or you could go for grounded Crayfish either works just fine.
9) Tomatoes: I suggest you go for the already processed tomatoes paste ( tomato puree) but again this is not compulsory, it just gives your dish a characteristic colour.
10) Coconut milk: if you love the taste of coconut milk, you could add it to your Moi-moi but also like the tomatoes, it’s optional.
11) Ginger and garlic: This is optional but very healthy.
Now let’s talk the kitchen utensils you will need. They are:
1) A cooking pot: Medium or large depending on the quantity your making.
2) Kitchen bowls: you will need one large bowl (for mixing) and one small bowl
3) Blender: you won’t need this if you’re using the beans flour and if you don’t have it that fine, you can have your beans grounded at the local market.
4) Spoon: You will need a mixing spoon and possibly a spoon strainer.
5) Food processor
6) Moi-moi wrap: you could opt for an aluminum foil, plastic disposable plates, heat proof nylon or leaves.
Now that we have gotten all that out of the way, let’s go into the procedure of making Moi-moi:
Step 1:
Select your beans to remove dried pods and stones. Take the carefully selected beans and put in a bowl and add water till it covers the beans. Soak the beans in water for about 30 minutes to make sure the skin is soft enough to remove.
Step 2:
Remove the skin of the bean by peeling it off. How to peel? Take a quantity of the beans in your hand and rub both palms with beans again; this other will cause the skin to peel off. But if this is a long stressful method, try using a good processor.
Step 3:
After your peeling process is done, wash your beans, and you will ensure that the skin you peeled off will be in the water while the bean’s seed will be at d help the bottom of the bowl. Step 3 is to separate the skin from the roots in a source
Step 4:
Put your washed beans in a blender along with your other ingredients like your onions, pepper, and Crayfish, and add at least a cup of water to make it blend smoothly.
Step 5:
Turn your bean paste into a bowl and add seasoning cubes, tomatoes or coconut milk, fish, or beef but remember that they are optional.
Step 6:
Divide the bean paste into portions using whatever Moi-moi wrap you choose.
Step 7:
Put the portion paste into the pot and arrange it carefully and adequately. Then add water into the pot and allow it to book for at least 50 minutes.
Please do not add water to fill the pot to its brim, and if the water you added dries up before time, you can still add water.
Step 8:
Please take out your Moi-moi delicacy and enjoy it.
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Nutritional value of Moi-Moi
Moi-moi is one of the healthiest Nigerian foods as it contains Vitamins like vitamins A, B, and C, Iron, phosphorus, sodium, manganese, magnesium, and fibers.
A 140g serving of Moi-moi contains approximately 239 calories, while a 3/4 cup serving contains about 119 calories based on a 2000-calorie diet.
A balanced diet is a healthy diet, and a healthy diet makes one healthy. As a part of our body’s needs, we must consume protein.
Conclusion
If you don’t eat meat because it gets stuck in your teeth, or you don’t eat fish and eggs because you don’t like the smell, here is a nutrient-packed satisfying meal to try.
On the plus side, Moi-moi is not expensive to prepare; it can be refrigerated and microwaved daily by portion, is easy to carry around, and is also delicious. Eat healthily and eat Moi-moi