Hummus and Ewaagoyin: Two sides of the same coin

There is absolutely nothing as universal as the food we eat. It connects all of us together. Its a thread that connects all mankind, every tribe, every tongue, every race, every color, every peoples. Maybe its our need to eat, or our basic humanness and our common innate need for nutrition. We all eat cause we need to and fundamentally our staples are the same. Rice, corn, wheat, yams, potatoes. What differs is the way we view these foods and the way we eat them and these are determined by our cultures and where we live.

I accurately recall my first meal in the United States. It was Febuary 18th 2004. I had come in on the 16th and spent 2 days in the apartment all alone and waiting for my mother. And she came in and we were famished. Prior to that I had been surviving on tap water, apple juice and bread So our host came to get us and he took us to El pollo loco. It turned out that this was a Mexican restaurant. You can imagine the culture shock and our confusion on what to eat. But as I looked into the menu I saw something very familiar. Something that looked like what I am very used to. Something homely. It was called Spanish rice but it was oh so so similar to my darling Jollof rice. You see no function is complete in Nigeria without jollof rice. As jollof rice is so so central to Nigerian cusine that it is a crime to fumble in its preparation. So, I looked at this contraption called Spanish rice cause it looked familiar to me. I was too hungry to be disappointed. Firstly, the rice was different from what is the norm in Nigeria. Nigerian rice is the parboiled long rice. This was a less starchy, thinner and finner rice. My darling jollof rice is cooked with an intense mix of spices, herbs and tomatoes. This was somewhat anemic in color and lacked the intensity of my darling jollof rice. But it had its own merits too. The flavor was different. The texture was different. But both Nigerian and Spanish rice were distant relatives. Somehow, with movement of peoples the idea behind jollof rice also travelled and was adapted with the ingredients around and the taste pallet of the people. Thus Nigerian Jollof rice and Spanish rice are born of the same ideology. A one pot dish of rice, spices, tomatoes (for coloring) and satisfaction.

Its the same with hummus and Ewaagoyin.  You see my sexy ewwaagoyin is a delicacy amongst the yorubas. I remember back then, early in the mornings, the girls with delicately balanced pots would hawk it on the streets. And the street people loved to pair it with agege bread. The mashed beans perfectly complemented the peppery sauce.

You see ewaagoin is made by cooking a special type of beans until it is very soft. Letting it cool and then mash it until you form a semi smooth paste. The sauce is made from palm oil, onions (of a small quantity compared to other Nigerian dishes), hot  peppers (popularly called atarodo in Yoruba) cooked until all the fluid in the blended mixture evaporates. Cayanne pepper is added and then seasoning cubes and salt.  This dish is served hot with the pepper sauce over the beans.

I came across a strange contraption called hummus in chicken maison. I was an established customer of chicken maison but never had the boldness to try it. One of my resolutions during my food revolution is to try out other foods that I determine to be healthy. So I ordered a side of hummus in Chicken maison because I learnt that it consists chiefly of beans which is a pulse and is low in calories. I began to acquire the taste of it, however my Nigerian pallet was repulsed by some slight tanginess and acidity. Almost like some vinegar was added during the preparation. You see the Nigerian pallet is primarily savory, salt and sweet. Very little of tangy or sour is to be found . So I searched for a hummus recipe and found that lemon juice was the offending agent. Then the food revolutionist in me came alive. Why don't I make hummus Nigerian style????

I set out to do so by boiling some black beans. Then I fried some onions and habanero in a little corn oil. Then pulsed all these together in my magic bullet and afterwards put it in the fridge. It scored a C plus. See it was way too hot as I underestimated the heat in my habanero. Then the consistency was too hard as I did not have a enough fluid during the blending. So I have learnt some lessons and the food revolutionist in me will continue to strive for better results. I will limit the pepper, add some avocado or sour cream, reduce the quantities of onions and then add some olive oil. Wish me well.