flipÈkuru funfun àti ọbẹ̀ epo — steamed cowpea pudding, palm oil sauce
Èkuru funfun àti ọbẹ̀ epo — steamed cowpea pudding, palm oil sauce
Why this dish? At orisha festivals, large quantities of cowpea paste wrapped in leaves are cooked: a dish of sharing. And since no feast is ever served without first pouring red oil to Eshu, his shadow hovers over every unwrapped leaf.
A soft cowpea pudding, steamed in leaves, unmoulded white and tender, then drizzled with a hot sauce of red palm oil and fermented iru. Mild, deep, festive.
Feast day! The drums have been beaten, I have been poured the oil first, and now we can eat. See these leaf packets lined up like gifts: inside, the cowpea cooks gently in steam, without noise, until it becomes tender as a child's cheek. Unwrap, turn out the white pudding, and drown it under the red oil where the iru swims. Share with your neighbour, even the one you do not like — for at my feast, he who eats alone eats poorly. I circulate between mouths, I taste everything, I am never satisfied.
- •Cowpeas (ẹ̀wà) — one measure pounded (pudding base)
- •Leaves (moromoro/banana leaves) — several (natural steam moulds)
- •Red palm oil — one ladleful (sauce)
- •Iru (fermented locust bean) — a few (fermented umami)
- •Salt (or filtered ash) — to taste (seasoning)
Èkuru funfun àti ọbẹ̀ epo — steamed cowpea pudding, palm oil sauce
A soft cowpea pudding, steamed in leaves, unmoulded white and tender, then drizzled with a hot sauce of red palm oil and fermented iru. Mild, deep, festive.
Why this dish? At orisha festivals, large quantities of cowpea paste wrapped in leaves are cooked: a dish of sharing. And since no feast is ever served without first pouring red oil to Eshu, his shadow hovers over every unwrapped leaf.
Feast day! The drums have been beaten, I have been poured the oil first, and now we can eat. See these leaf packets lined up like gifts: inside, the cowpea cooks gently in steam, without noise, until it becomes tender as a child's cheek. Unwrap, turn out the white pudding, and drown it under the red oil where the iru swims. Share with your neighbour, even the one you do not like — for at my feast, he who eats alone eats poorly. I circulate between mouths, I taste everything, I am never satisfied.
Ingredients (period version)
- Cowpeas (ẹ̀wà) — one measure pounded (pudding base)
- Leaves (moromoro/banana leaves) — several (natural steam moulds)
- Red palm oil — one ladleful (sauce)
- Iru (fermented locust bean) — a few (fermented umami)
- Salt (or filtered ash) — to taste (seasoning)
Ingredients
- Dried peeled cowpeas — 300 g (to blend and steam)
- Banana leaves or small ramekins — as needed (steam containers)
- Red palm oil — 4 tbsp (scarlet sauce)
- Iru (fermented locust bean) — 1 tbsp (umami)
- Onion — 1 (sauce base)
- Salt — to taste (seasoning)
Method
- Soak and peel the cowpeas, blend with a little water into a smooth, light paste.
- Pour into folded banana leaves or ramekins, close.
- Steam for 35–40 minutes until the paste sets and can be unmoulded.
- For the sauce: heat the red palm oil, sauté the onion and crushed iru, season with salt, let infuse.
- Unmould the puddings, generously drizzle with the hot red oil sauce.
How it was made : Èkuru (cousin to moin-moin, but without seasoning in the batter) is traditionally cooked in leaves tied over a pot of boiling water, which gives it its vegetal perfume. The festive version without chili corresponds to the pre-Atlantic era: the sauce draws all its power from palm oil and iru, not from American pepper.
The contemporary twist : Unmould into small individual domes, mirror-glaze with sauce, and sprinkle a few whole iru grains like fermented caviar.
Sources : Jessica B. Harris, The Africa Cookbook (1998)
Eshu · Charactorium
