7 TIPS FOR COOKING GOOD BEANS PORRIDGE

7 TIPS FOR COOKING GOOD BEANS PORRIDGE. We make the best beans porridge in my house. I know that because
I used to struggle with beans porridge in the past and convinced myself that good beans porridge can only come from South Western Nigeria. T

he Yorubas can cook good beans just believe me and leave it like that. Don’t argue please oh. I’m not Yoruba but trust me, they are good.

There was a time I used to buy takeaway beans because I love beans porridge. By just looking at a pot of cooked beans, I can tell if it tastes great or not, maybe that’s a talent, lol at beans recognition talent.

When we eat out or buy takeaway food. I always ordered for beans if I like the beans I see there. One place in Abuja that makes good beans is Next Cash N Carry.

I used to love their spicy beans porridge a lot. Everyone wondered why mummy cannot shop at Next and leave without ordering a plate of takeaway beans or two to enjoy at home.

Why? When I say their beans tastes like mine, everyone will start laughing so I stopped saying that and just kept buying quietly.

When I cook beans porridge, I cannot add as much pepper as I want because my kids just cannot handle pepper and make me feel bad like I didn’t care about them while cooking.

Since I thought about scooping my cooked beans into a different pot and adding pepper, I haven’t bought beans porridge again, So, I hope the chefs at Next still make such good beans porridge sha.

Sometimes, when the taste of food at your favourite eatery suddenly changes, just know a new chef has resumed work.

There are many methods of cooking good beans porridge but one thing is sure. The end result is delicious and soft. 

To cook good beans porridge

1. Pick the beans first. Remove the dirt and stones before washing but there is a trick to this.

   You can empty the beans in a large bowl and fill it up with water, the stones sink down under the beans while the chaff float on top above the beans.

   To skip picking, especially for white black eyed pea beans, it’s easy. The floating chaff is easily removed and set aside while the beans is gently scooped out to prevent stones from escaping into the washed beans.
   This method may not work for brown beans because the stones in brown are brown too. A good meal of beans porridge shouldn’t contain stones.

   No one must crack on a tiny stone while eating beans.

2. Soak beans overnight or for an hour before cooking. Soaking beans helps reduce cooking time.

3. Boil beans with a pressure cooker till soft, then empty into another pot, add ingredients and continue cooking.

   Using a pressure cooker to cook beans is the fastest method of cooking. One reason I stopped cooking my beans with a pressure cooker is that it gets over cooked.
   
   I prefer to cook my beans done and do the mashing than let a pressure cooker overcook the beans. It wasn’t that difficult until I got a new pressure cooker that’s too stubborn to follow food timing.
   Beans boils for 30 minutes, we check, it’s still uncooked, let it boil again and then next time you check, it’s overcooked.
   These days I just cook my beans with a normal cooking pot until I’m sure of which brand pressure cooker to get.

4. Do not add salt or even tomatoes or even wine until beans is cooked. These are acidic and won’t help the beans cook fast.

   Salt may end up hardening the beans even more if added early.

   Let the beans boil till soft before you add your salt, seasoning cubes, pepper, tomatoes, wine, lemon or whatever you like to cook your beans porridge with. I repeat, never add salt to uncooked beans.

5. Add onion at the beginning of cooking. Onion helps the beans cook fast and it adds good taste. Dice onion into the pot of raw, washed beans, add cold water and cook like that till soft before adding any other ingredients.

   Oil too can be added at the beginning to give it enough time to cook well so you don’t taste palm oil in your porridge.

   I sometimes add onion and oil at the beginning and let it cook well before adding other ingredients.

   Remember to stir beans frequently as they boil so they don’t stick to bottom of pot and start burning.

6. Finally, remember to mash the cooked beans if you want Nigerian beans porridge.

   If you like your beans to remain unbroken, then do not mash, just stir gently occasionally until it cooks and serve. When beans porridge is mashed ehn, the taste is different.

   The thickness that comes with mashing beans porridge is beautiful and tasty. I mash my cooked beans with a wooden spoon or potato masher.

   Without mashing the cooked beans, you won’t get that consistency that comes with Nigerian beans porridge.

7. You can choose to fry your cooked beans together with crayfish peppers, seasoning and onion in hot oil to get a different delicious taste.

   Cooked beans that’s fried tastes different and great. The crayfish fried with onion gives a good aroma in the beans.

   You can also just add your ingredients straight to the pot of cooked beans, simmer a little, mash and enjoy our tips to cook good beans porridge.See How to cook Nigerian beans porridge
   
   AND
   How to make beans stew with ginger garlic and green peppers

   Do you have any beans cooking tips? Please share…