Ewa Agoyin — meaning “beans from Benin” in Yoruba — is one of Nigeria’s most iconic street foods, with roots tracing to Beninese traders who introduced their slow-cooked mashed bean tradition to Lagos and the Yoruba south-west. Today it is a beloved fixture of Lagos mornings: sold from massive pots at roadside stalls, ladled hot into enamel bowls, and eaten with thick slices of agege bread fresh from the bakery. It is the food of the people — affordable, nourishing, and deeply comforting — and it has made its home among Nigerians across the UK too, from Sunday morning breakfasts to the first pot a student cooks to feel closer to home.
What elevates Ewa Agoyin beyond simple mashed beans is the sauce: a fearlessly generous pour of palm oil fried low and slow with caramelised onions, blended scotch bonnet and peppers, dried iru, and fragrant spices, cooked until the oil rises gloriously to the top and the whole kitchen smells like a Lagos street corner. The beans themselves are soft enough to melt on the tongue, with just enough rough texture to scoop the sauce. It is a combination that has made Nigerians choose Ewa Agoyin over all other breakfast options for generations — and on cold British mornings, it is warming in every sense of the word.
Everything you need to cook a proper pot of Ewa Agoyin is stocked at Awuf Afro Store — Awuf Honey Beans (Oloyin), Delex Ewa Agoyin Mix, fresh scotch bonnet peppers, red onions, and palm oil, all available for delivery across the UK.
Ingredients
Serves 4–6
| Quantity | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 2 cups (about 400g dried) | Awuf Honey Beans (Oloyin) (washed and soaked overnight) |
| ½ cup (about 125ml) | Palm Oil |
| 4 medium | Red Onions (3 finely sliced, 1 for blending) |
| 6–8 | Fresh Scotch Bonnet Peppers (adjust to heat preference) |
| 2 medium | Fresh Red Bell Peppers (for blending into the sauce base) |
| 1 packet (200g) | Delex Ewa Agoyin Mix |
| 2 tablespoons | Awuf Ground Crayfish |
| 1 teaspoon | Delex Dried Iru (Locust Beans) |
| 2 cubes | Maggi Star Seasoning (crumbled) |
| to taste | Salt |
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Method
- Sort and wash the Awuf Honey Beans (Oloyin), picking out any grit or discoloured beans. Cover with cold water and soak for at least 4 hours, or overnight in the fridge. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
- Transfer the soaked beans to a large pot. Cover with fresh cold water to about 4cm above the beans. Bring to a vigorous boil over high heat and boil hard for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam. Reduce to a medium simmer and cook for 60–75 minutes, topping up with hot water as needed to keep the beans submerged, until completely soft and tender enough to crush effortlessly between your fingers.
- Drain off most of the cooking liquid, reserving a mugful. Mash the beans coarsely with the back of a large wooden spoon or a potato masher — aim for a thick, scoopable porridge texture with some texture remaining, not a smooth paste. Stir in a little reserved liquid if it looks too dry. Season with salt, cover, and keep warm over the lowest heat.
- While the beans cook, make the Agoyin sauce. Peel and finely slice 3 of the red onions. Heat the palm oil in a wide, heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium-high heat for 3 minutes until thoroughly hot.
- Add the sliced onions to the hot palm oil and fry, stirring every few minutes, for 20–25 minutes until deeply caramelised — dark golden-brown and jammy, with slightly charred edges. Be patient and resist the urge to rush this step; the slow-blackened, melted onions are the very soul of Ewa Agoyin sauce.
- Meanwhile, blend the scotch bonnet peppers, fresh red bell peppers, and the remaining onion with a small splash of water until completely smooth. Pour the blended pepper mix into the caramelised onions and stir well. Fry over medium heat for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oil rises back to the surface and the raw pepper smell has fully cooked out.
- Stir in the Delex Ewa Agoyin Mix, Awuf Ground Crayfish, and Delex Dried Iru. Crumble in the Maggi Star seasoning cubes. Fry for a further 5 minutes, stirring well. Taste and adjust salt as needed. The finished sauce should be thick, intensely fragrant, and generously coated in palm oil.
- Ladle the mashed beans into deep bowls or enamel plates and spoon the Agoyin sauce generously over the top, letting the oil pool around the edges. Serve immediately with thick slices of agege bread or fresh crusty white bread for scooping and mopping.
Tips & Variations
- The Agoyin sauce tastes even better the next day as the flavours deepen — make a double batch, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze in portions for up to 3 months. Reheat gently in a pan with a splash of water.
- For a milder version suitable for children, reduce the scotch bonnet peppers to 2–3 and increase the red bell peppers to 4. For serious heat lovers, add a teaspoon of dried chilli powder to the sauce in step 7.
- The Delex Dried Iru (locust beans) is the secret umami backbone of an authentic Agoyin sauce — even just one teaspoon adds a deep, complex funk that makes the sauce taste like it has been cooking since dawn. Do not skip it.
