What it is
A smooth, slippery green soup made from jute leaves beaten or blended until they break down into a light draw. It is thin, barely seasoned beyond iru and crayfish, and is meant to be eaten with something else rather than alone.
Key ingredients
- Ewedu (jute) leaves
- Iru (locust beans)
- Ground crayfish
- Potash or bicarbonate (optional)
- Salt
- Water
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Poured over amala or eba together with gbegiri and stew, and eaten with the fingers.
Cultural significance
Ewedu is Yoruba and inseparable from amala. Together with gbegiri and stew it forms abula, the three-part combination served in buka restaurants across Ibadan, Lagos and Oyo. Traditionally it is beaten with a broom-like whisk called ijabe rather than blended, and older cooks insist the texture is different when it is.
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