Nyemba Stew (Cowpeas)

Nyemba (cowpeas) are one  of our indigenous foods. They’re very nutritious and among other things can help with the management of diabetes, weight loss, a clean and healthy digestive system as well as detoxifying the body. There are so many different ways in which to prepare nyemba other than putting them in your mutakura. Here’s one of them. Unfortunately my 5 year old just couldn’t get past the look 😀 She felt the black spots on them was actual dirt (we do eat with our eyes first don’t we?! Lol. I had to explain to her that that’s their natural look. She didn’t quite buy it! The rest of the family, however, loved it!

Get This

• Medium sized pot
• Chopping board
• Sharp knife
• Wooden spoon

Do This

1. Get your ingredients together. These incude; 250 g dried nyemba (cowpeas)
   3 cups water
   2 large cloves garlic
   1 1/2 tsp salt
   1 tsp tomato paste
   1 medium onion, chopped
   1/2 tsp curry powder
   2 large tomatoes, chopped
   2 carrots,chopped
   1/4 punnet green beans, chopped
   2 1/2 tbsp oil
   2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2. Put your nyemba in the pot. Add water, garlic and salt (1 tsp). Bring to the boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer.
3. Simmer until tender and cooked (took about 1 hr 30min on my stove). (Don’t overcook else it’ll become messy and mashed up when you prepare the soup).
4. Drain and reserve any excess water. Remove the cooked nyemba from the pot and set aside. Add oil to the same pot.
5. Add onions and curry powder. Fry for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt (1/2 tsp) and tomato paste. Stir and allow to cook for 2 minutes. Add Worcestershire sauce, a little bit of the reserved excess water (if any) and the nyemba.
6. Stir until well combined, add carrots and green beans. Allow to simmer on low heat for 5-8 minutes Giving time for the flavours to marry as well as for the vegetables to get cooked.
7. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Enjoy!