Eba with efo gbure is a Nigerian dish that pairs a starchy swallow with a vegetable soup. It is a native meal of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria and other parts of Yorubaland, and it can be served along with a meat or seafood of choice. Instead of the eba, you may also serve the soup with amala, a yam-based swallow.
Ingredients
Soup
- A medium-sized bowl full of waterleaf
- ¼ cup palm oil
- 1 cup puréed tomato
- ½ cup puréed chile pepper
- 250 ml water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 seasoning cubes, crushed
Eba
- 1 liter water
- 2 milk tins of processed cassava flakes (garri)
Equipment
- Bowls
- Pots
- Knife
- Chopping board
Procedure
Soup
- Thoroughly rinse the waterleaf in water to ensure it is free of dirt. Drain well, and chop the waterleaf very finely.
- Place a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the palm oil, and let it heat up before carefully adding the tomato and chile purées.
- Allow the purées to boil for about 2 minutes. If necessary, lower the heat to prevent scorching.
- Stir in the waterleaf and water, and let boil for another 5 minutes.
- Stir in the salt and seasoning cube, and let boil for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Eba
- Bring the water to a boil in a pot.
- Gradually stir in the cassava flakes, and cook until the mixture forms a smooth dough.
- Serve the eba as a swallow alongside your soup.