Sierra Leone – Oleleh

by Bob Huyu

From Sierra Leone I bring you the most delicious traditional dish, Oleleh. It is a mixture of black eyed beans, palm oil, yam and with many other ingredients. Sierra Leone is known to have a tropical climatic condition and it’s located on the coast of West Africa, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in south west, Liberia in south east and by Guinea in the north east.

Oleleh is everyone favorite dish. It has served a millions of inhabitants and foreigners, because it is sold in almost every available street in the country, probably even to the neighbors.

Cooking it, will add another interesting exposure about traditional cuisines, simply because of the ingredients and how they get to mix up forming custard-like snacks serving to almost everyone taste buds.

Some other adds more than just cereals, spices and vegetables, but also meats and eggs, this all is to add interesting taste on the cuisine.

Catch up your kitchen and let us make Oleleh for the family snack, also you can make an interesting meal to your African friend who pays a visit, such appreciation. I always prepare it this way.

Ingredients

• 1/2 kg of dry black eyed beans
• 5 onion
• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 2 tablespoons crayfish
• palm oil
• 1 red Bell pepper
• 1 habanero/scotch Bonnet
• 2 bullion cubes
• cooked minced fish
• salt

Cooking procedures

• Since beans are our only time consuming ingredient, we start with it. Soak it for about one hour, blend it to peel them and not blending them. 3 seconds are enough for 5 times blending with water of about twicw beans top.
• Using fingers, agitate beans to remove it’s skin in a bowl. Once done separate beans from it’s skin.
• Put back beans (skin separated – clean beans) in a blender, add peppers, habanero and onion, blend until smooth.
• In a bowl, put all the ingredients except boiled eggs, take banana leaves, wrap some portions of the mix until all are covered, put into a pot, add water and boil it while top covered.
• Cook for about 1 hour, then using a hook or toothpick, put it in the middle it should be back clean to show that it’s ready.
• Once done, serve it with boiled eggs aside. With my family, we normally take it with tea or juice.
• Enjoy the meal.