How to cook Nigerian Moi Moi

>3 cigar cups or 750g Beans (Brown/Black eyed)
>5 tablespoons ground crayfish
>4 big stock cubes
>1 habanero pepper
>2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
>3 tatashe peppers or 800g watery >tomato puree (sold
outside Nigeria)
>2 big onions
>20cl vegetable oil
>2 litres of cool or warm water
>Salt (to taste)

Add any of the following to the Moi Moi
Hard boiled eggs: Cut the eggs into small pieces.
Bone Marrow: Cook the bone marrow with spices and herbs
till done then add to the Moi Moi at the mixing stage.
Corned beef: separate into small chunks and add to the moi
moi during mixing. You can also add to the moi moi after
dishing then into cooking bowls or foil bags.

Before you cook Moi Moi
1. About three hours before cooking the moi moi, soak and
wash the beans to remove the coat . When the entire coat
has been removed, place the beans in a bowl and pour
enough water to cover it. Leave to soak for three hours.
This is so that the best consistency will be achieved when
you blend the beans.
2. It is advisable to use one of eggs, bone marrow or corned
beef, not the three at the same time. If you will use eggs,
cook till hard boiled, cut into small pieces and set aside. If
you prefer bone marrow, cook it with salt and Maggi / Knorr
cubes and set aside the stock. If it is corned beef you will
go for, open the can and separate the beef into small lumps.
3. Now go ahead and prepare the moi moi containers .

Next ...
1. Wash the tatashe pepper (if using it). Ensure you remove
the tatashe seeds as they have a tendency to give meals a
bitter taste.
2. Cut the onions into pieces, grind the crayfish with a dry mill.
If using the heavy duty grinder in Nigerian markets, these
won't be necessary.
3. Crush the stock cubes and set aside. Wash the habanero/
scotch bonnet peppers and set aside.
4. Now that the beans is soaked (the bean seed is tender when
you pinch it), it is time to blend it. It is very important that
you use a very good blender for this purpose. The taste and
feel of your Moi Moi depends so much on the consistency of
the blend. If in doubt, put a small quantity of bean seeds in
your home blender and grind to the best of its ability using
as small quantity of water as possible. Feel the resulting
paste with your fingers and if you notice any tiny pieces at
all, then the blender is not good for Moi Moi. At this time,
you may consider using the commercial heavy duty mills at
your local market if you are in Nigeria. Yes, you have your
health and hygiene concerns but most of the mill operators
actually keep their mills clean. And they let you bring your
own water and containers. So there you go!

Cooking Directions
1. Blend the beans, tatashe or tomato puree, onions, crayfish,
habanero pepper and ground nutmeg together with some of
the water and pour the mix into a big enough bowl.
2. Add the vegetable oil and the bone marrow stock (if this is
what you have chosen to add to your moi moi).
3. Slowly add the remaining water and stir the mixture at the
same time till you get a good mix of all the ingredients.
4. Add salt to taste and stir very well.
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.
5. Pad the base of a big pot, pour some water and set on the
stove. The depth of the water should be at most 1 inch.
6. Dish the Moi moi mix into containers of your choice, add
egg/bone marrow/corned beef to each container, seal/cover
and set them in the pot.
7. Add as small quantity of water as possible at a time while
cooking the Moi Moi as detailed in preparation and use of
moi moi containers so that the moi moi will not become
watery when done. This is the case especially when using
aluminium foil or uma leaves.
8. The length of time you will cook your Moi Moi depends on
the quantity and the Moi Moi container you used.
The Moi Moi that gets done quickest is the one wrapped in
Uma or Banana leaves, followed by Moi Moi wrapped in
aluminum foils then the one that takes the most time is Moi
Moi cooked in aluminium or plastic plates.
But whatever Moi Moi container you use, it is advisable to
cook your Moi Moi for at least 1 hour, before checking it.
Confirm that it is done by putting a knife through it, if the
knife is stained with Moi Moi paste, then the Moi Moi is not
done, but if the knife just has a slight smear of Moi Moi, then
it's done. Also, when you cut through the Moi Moi, the
insides will be set and not watery.
If you are cooking a few wraps of Moi Moi in a small pot on
high heat, then it will only take about 45 minutes to get
done while when you are cooking a large pot of Moi Moi, it
will definitely take more than one hour.Serve