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Adalu is a popular Nigerian maize and bean meal made as a pottage with smoked fish and/or meat cooked in palm oil.
Yorubas name this dish Ewa Ati Agbado(it translates to beans and corn). If you have any leftover corn, Adalu is a terrific way to use it up. It is not only nutrient-dense but also delicious.
How to Cook Adalu
It’s a fantastic experience to make this beans-based Nigerian dish. It’s simply stewed Beans and Sweetcorn mash-up. It’s incredibly tasty and doesn’t take a lot of skill to prepare. Before you add the other ingredients, make sure the water from the beans has nearly completely evaporated.
The traditional method of making Adalu is to simply pour Palm oil over cooked Beans and Corn, some others also prefer to fry blended pepper in Palm oil before adding it to boiled Beans to finish the cooking process; either way, it’s delicious.
Note: If beans make you feel bloated after eating them, wash and soak them overnight; if using fresh corn, use the soft variety. If you buy the hard corn, add it to the beans while they’re still cooking, right before adding the rest of the ingredients. It’s a popular hack that people regularly use and it always works.
Some suggestions for Amzon links to “Dried Corn”.
ADALU (Beans and Corn Pottage)
Ingredients
- 2 cigarcups (approx. 500g) brown/blackeyed beans
- 3 - 4 medium sized corn on the cob (Substitute frozen kernel corn)
- 2 cooking spoons palm kernel cream or palm oil
- 1 large smoked fish
- 3 tbsp dry grounded crayfish or shrimp paste
- 1 medium sized onion
- 1 - 2 crushed habanero peppers
- 1 tbsp dry grounded pepper
- 1 - 2 tbsp coconut oil optional
- bouillon
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Remove the husks from the corn and wash each one. Using a knife, neatly and carefully scrape the corn off the cob; beginning from the top to the bottom and into a bowl; then set aside. Parboil the corn for about 15 minutes, drain and set aside.
- Pick through the beans to remove any stones. Soak the beans in cold water for 3 hours. Wash and boil the beans for 20 minutes or till soft, do not season yet. Drain the water, rinse the beans in cold water and set aside. This soaking and pre-cooking process will help reduce the gas inducing elements.
- Place a clean pot on medium heat, heat up oil. Add in onion and fry until slightly brown. Add the crayfish, habanero, salt, bouillon, and half of the fish. Stir and cook until reduced.
- Add 1 cup of water, bring to a boil then add the beans. Once the beans get softer, add the corn, stir and reduce the heat. Cook for about 10 minutes; then stir in the dry pepper, the remaining fish and the coconut oil. Check for seasonings, stir, cover and set aside
- Serve with Stir fry fish sauce and/or plantain
