Name: Achicha Ede with Fio Fio
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 110 min
Total time: 615 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 300 g achicha ede (commercially prepared dried cooked cocoyam flakes); 200 g dried pigeon peas (fio fio); 150 g ugba (ready-to-eat fermented oil bean); 100 ml red palm oil; 1 large onion (sliced); 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (crushed); 2 tbsp ground dried crayfish (optional); 15 g scent leaves (washed and chopped); 200 g ugu or green amaranth leaves (washed and chopped; optional); 2000 ml water (plus soaking water and top-ups); to taste salt

Achicha Ede with Fio Fio

Steamed cocoyam flakes and soft pigeon peas tossed with ugba, pepper and palm oil. Onyinye Olufunmi describes achicha ede as a favourite food from her paternal Nsukka family. Its main ingredient has already undergone cooking and drying before reaching the pot. That advance preparation gives the flakes their character and distinguishes the dish from a porridge made with fresh cocoyam. Cultural context: A Nsukka-associated combination of dried cocoyam and pigeon peas. Other achicha preparations use more greens or different accompaniments.

Achicha Ede with pigeon peas, irregular cocoyam flakes, ugba strips and palm oil

25 minPreparation

110 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 480 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 615 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

Let’s get cooking

Sort pigeon peas and soak in plenty of water overnight in the refrigerator. Separately rinse and soak the achicha. Drain both the next day.

Put pigeon peas in a pot with 2 litres fresh water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 60–100 minutes until completely tender, topping up as needed. Drain.

Break softened achicha into small flakes. Put it in a fine-mesh steamer basket above simmering water, cover and steam 35–50 minutes, or longer until soft all the way through.

Warm palm oil in a wide pot without smoking it. Cook onion for 3 minutes; add pepper, crayfish and ugba and cook 3 minutes.

Add the optional greens and scent leaves; cook 3–5 minutes. Fold in cooked pigeon peas and achicha, season with salt, and heat together for 5 minutes.

Serve as a complete meal, loosening with a splash of hot water if necessary.

A little kitchen wisdom

The peas and achicha can cook in parallel in a suitable stacked steamer pot. Do not replace processed achicha with uncooked, sun-dried pieces of unknown cocoyam. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 110 min; additional passive time 480 min; conservative planning allowance 615 min. Some stages may overlap. For Recipe.ng display, prep_minutes includes the additional passive time; it is not all hands-on work. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Crustaceans if using crayfish; Pigeon peas and oil beans are legumes

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Echicha ede, Achicha and pigeon peas

A Nsukka-associated combination of dried cocoyam and pigeon peas. Other achicha preparations use more greens or different accompaniments.

Allergens: Crustaceans if using crayfish, Pigeon peas and oil beans are legumes