How To Prepare Moi Moi In Nigeria

Moi moi also known as beans pudding is one of such Nigerian food that is eaten by everybody. It is made of beans and some other ingredients such as tomatoes, pepper, onion, vegetable oil etc. it’s a good source of protein.

Preparation of moi moi can see as a big task because of the processes involved, well nothing good comes easy. This is recipe for a delicious moi moi that can serve for your occasion.

Preparation and Usage of Moi moi container

Moi Moi can be prepared by the following containers

Aluminium  foil: It cooks moi moi in less time compared with the bowl.  Moi Moi wrapped in aluminium foil is presentable for parties or guests. This is how it is prepared:

a. Cut the foil in pieces depending on the size of bag you want to make.

b. Then fold the open edges to make a flat bag and leave one end open. Ensure the foil is being doubled when making the bags. This ensures the bags do not burst during cooking due to intense heat.

c. Mix the Moi Moi and pour some into the aluminium foil bag through the open end of the bag. The bag shouldn’t be filled to the brim, moi moi rises during cooking. This may cause the bag to burst

d. Fold the open end of the aluminium bag and place the bag in a padded pot. Padding should be done at the base of the cooking pot to prevent bursting of the bags placed at the base due to intense heat.

e. The bags of moi moi should be cooked in a boiling water so that the contents will be set immediately thereby preventing accidental leakage.

Plastic bowl:  This is mostly used by families. Gone are the days when families had sets of plastic or re-usable aluminium bowls with covers.

They were just perfect for making Moi Moi. With the recent discoveries of risks associated with cooking with plastic bowls, using glass material bowls is the safest. Here is how it is prepared and used:

a. Wash and dry the bowls.

b. Inside the bowl should be rubbed with vegetable oil to prevent moi moi from sticking to it when it is cooked

c. When putting the moi moi mix, do keep the contents only up to half of the container. So that it won’t overflow when cooking as moi moi rises

d. The quantity of water poured in the pot should only be half way up the bowls at the bottom of the pot while cooking the moi moi. This is so because the water does  not go into the bowls.

The reason why it takes too long for the Moi Moi at the top to get done while using bowl. They are basically steam-cooked.

e. When the water dries, add more, making sure not to pour water into the bowls.

f. After some time, swap the bowls. The bowls at the bottom should be placed ontop while the ones ontop should be moved to the bottom as to get cooked all at the same time.

g. Cook till the Moi Moi is well cooked. This can be checked by putting a clean dry knife into the moi moi. If knife comes out clean or with an oily smear, the moi moi is done. On the other hand , if knife comes out with a paste (moi moi ) on it , then it is not yet cooked

Uma (Thaumatococcus Daniellii) leaf: This is one wrapper that is recommended. It cooks Moi Moi , 100% natural and and adds flavour to Moi Moi.

a. Remove the leaf stalks. There a special way to do that so the stalk at the back of the leaves are not removed

b. Carefully wash the leaves at least 2 times in lots of water. The first wash should be with salt water and a foam sponge to remove all dirts/dusts. The second wash should basically be rinsing them in plenty of water.

c. Also wash the leaf stalks as they will be used as padding for the base of the pot.

d. Mix the Nigerian Moi Moi.

e. Pad the base of the pot using the washed uma leaves stalk, to prevent burning of the wraps at the base of the pot.

f. Add small quantity of water in the pot and bring to a boil.

g. To make uma wraps: First of all, place 2 leaves on top of each other, fold them to form a cone. Then bend the pointed end and hold it up. Put some moi moi mix into the cone. Fold the open end and place the wrap in the pot of boiling water.

h. Use atleast 2 leaves to make a wrap. This doubling ensures a better buildup for the moi moi wraps to avoid leakages. It is difficult to achieve 0% leakage

Moi Moi Accessories

Add any of the following to decorate your Moi Moi

Boiled eggs: Cut the eggs into small pieces.

Corned beef: Separate into small chunks and add to the moi moi during mixing.  It can also be added when dishing then into cooking bowls or foil bags.

Bone Marrow: Cook the bone marrow with spices and herbs till done then add when mixing the moi moi

Tools used for Moi Moi

a. Cooker

b. Deep Pot

c. Spatula

d. Chopping board

e. Blender

f. Knives

Ingredients for Moi Moi

a. The tomato puree: This gives the Moi Moi its classic peachy colour. If you are in Nigeria, the best ingredient to use is tatashe pepper

b. Nutmeg: it gives the Moi Moi a classic taste. Have you ever wondered why the party moi moi taste better, it may be due to the presence of Nutmeg

c. 2 Litres of Water:  This exact quantity of water can give the perfect texture of Moi Moi. It includes the water used in blending the beans. The quantity of bone narrow stock should be part of the 2 litres of liquid use in mixing the Moi Moi.

N.B If you not satisfied with the texture, adjust the quantity of water accordingly.

d. Cold or Warm water: It is best to use cool or warm water when mixing Moi Moi.  Hot water may give a lumpy mixture so therefore may not be a good choice for you

e. Vegetable Oil: Use the right amount of oil to give Moi Moi a good texture. Use any quantity of oil of your choice. Use tastless and odourless oils so it won’t alter the taste of the moi moi. Olive oil is not recommended

Cooking Moi Moi

a. Soak beans for 15 minutes, peel the coat of the bean by rubbing the bean seed in between your palm to loosen the beans coat.

When the white body of the beans is visible, add water, stir, then you notice that the skin floats up. Drain out the water, add more water and continue peeling until all the skins are completely off

b. When the entire coat has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour enough water and soak for three hours so as to get the best consistency when the beans is blended

c. As listed in the moi moi accessories, it is advised to use just one of them, eggs or bone marrow or corned beef, not the three at the same time.

Do you wish to use the bone marrow? Then cook it with salt and Maggi / Knorr cubes and set aside the stock. Or you prefer the eggs, cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. Or the corned beef you will go for, open the can and separate the beef into small lumps.

d. Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers.

e. Wash the tatashe pepper (if using it). Ensure the seeds are removed as they have a tendency to give meals a bitter taste.

f. Slice the onions

g. Crush the stock cubes and set aside.

h. Wash the habanero peppers and set aside.

i. It is time to blend to blend the soaked beans . Use a good blender to get the best consistency because the taste and texture of the moi moi depends on that  .

j. Blend the beans together with the tatashe or tomato puree, sliced onions, crayfish, habanero pepper, ground nutmeg and some of the water and pour the mix into a pale.

k. Add the vegetable oil

l. Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients.

m. Add salt to taste and stir very well.

n. Pad the base of a big pot, pour some water, the depth should be an inch and set pot on the stove.

o. Scoop the Moi moi mix into the containers of your choice, add egg/bone marrow/corned beef to each container, seal/cover and set them in the pot.

p. Add a small quantity of water as possible while cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in above in the “preparation and use of moi moi containers” especially when using the aluninium foil or uma leaves, so that the Moi moi will not become watery when done.

q. The cooking time depends on the quantity and the container used. The container with fastest cooking time is the Uma leaves, followed by the aluminium foils the the aluninium or plastic plates.

But whatever is your choice of container, atleast an hour is enough to get done . Always confirm that it is done as explained in “preparation and use of moi moi containers”

The Moi Moi is ready and can be served as a side dish to Jollof Rice, Fried Rice or Fried Plantains. For breakfast, it goes with Custard or Akamu (Pap, Ogi).

Note: Moi Moi is one of the Nigerian food recipes that is prepared cold. All the mixing and adding of ingredients is done off the stove. That is to say, once you start cooking, there is no going back! You cannot decide to add more salt or seasoning or a new ingredient later. So getting it right at the mixing stage is very important.

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