Nigeria | Stew

Efo Riro

A Yoruba spinach and pepper stew cooked with palm oil, locust beans, crayfish, and assorted meats or fish.

Country
Nigeria
Region
West Africa
Time
60 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Use this overview to check the occasion, serving ideas, regional context, and cooking commitment before you begin.

When to cook it

Best for family meals, swallow plates, and rice bowls.. Plan on a medium cook and about 60 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Amala, eba, pounded yam, fufu, boiled rice, or plantain.

Regional lane

South-West and Yoruba table. Amala, ewedu, gbegiri, pepper stews, leafy soups, beans, and market foods from the Yoruba cooking orbit.

Chef watch-outs
  • Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
  • Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
  • Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
How you know it is ready
  • The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
  • The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
  • Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
Pantry lane

palm oil, crayfish, iru or ogiri, scotch bonnet, melon seed

Chef board

Build the table around Efo Riro

Amala, eba, pounded yam, fufu, boiled rice, or plantain.

Best route from here

South-West and Yoruba table

Collections to keep cooking
Nigerian Regional Table
Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Nigeria
4 steps 25 min prep 35 min cook 60 min total medium
1
Blend and reduce the peppers
Blend bell peppers, scotch bonnet, and half the onion into a coarse pepper base. Simmer until some water cooks off.
Kitchen noteA reduced base keeps the soup rich instead of watery.
Reduce peppers 10:00
2
Fry the aromatics
Heat palm oil gently, add sliced onion and iru, then fry until fragrant. Stir in the pepper base and crayfish.
Fry base 15:00
3
Add the proteins
Add cooked meat and smoked fish. Simmer so the pepper sauce coats the proteins and the oil rises slightly.
Simmer 10:00
4
Fold in the greens
Add squeezed greens in batches, stirring until just wilted and coated. Taste and season with salt.
Kitchen noteDo not cook the greens to mush. Efo Riro should still have body.
Wilt greens 05:00

Amaranth, efo shoko, efo tete, or spinach may be used depending on market access. Protein mixes vary widely.

Keep exploring

Cook around Efo Riro

Follow country, category, collection, time, and pairing paths without turning the recipe page into a link farm.

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