Miyan gyada

Ingredients

Meat

• 700 gbeef on the bone
• in pieces
• or goat
• 2 tablespoonsoil
• salt

The groundnut

• 300 ggroundnut paste
• unsweetened, or smooth peanut butter
• hot water, to loosen

The pot

• 2onions, chopped
• 5garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tablespoonstomato purée
• 2scotch bonnets, chopped
• or to taste
• 1 tablespoonground ginger
• 2stock cubes
• about 1.5 litres water

The greens

• 300 gspinach or sorrel leaves
• or dried baobab leaf
• shredded

To serve

• tuwo
• stiff millet or maize porridge
• eaten with the right hand

Directions

1. Check the label carefully before buying. Thick paste added straight in sits in lumps. Oil rises to the surface as it cooks. Stir it regularly all the way through. Keep the heat low and use a heavy pot. Put the beef in a large heavy pot. Add a chopped onion and some salt. Cover it over with cold water. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Skim off any grey scum that rises. Do it in the first few minutes.
2. Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it simmer for about an hour. Judging the meat takes a check. Simmer it on if it still resists. Lift the meat out onto a plate. Keep all of the cooking broth. Do not throw it away at any point. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the remaining chopped onion. Cook it for a good eight minutes. Add the crushed garlic in to it. Cook it for two more full minutes.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pot. Add the tomato purée along with them. Add the chopped scotch bonnets. Add the ground ginger as well. Cook them down for about ten minutes. The tomato must cook right down.
4. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone. Wash hands and boards thoroughly. Put the groundnut paste in a bowl. Add hot water a little at a time. Whisk it into a smooth loose cream. Thick paste added dry sits in lumps.
5. Pour the loosened paste into the pot. Stir it through the tomato base. Add all the reserved meat broth. Add the stock cubes into it as well. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for about thirty minutes.
6. Stir it every few minutes throughout. Thirty minutes is what the paste needs. Oil should rise clear to the surface. The soup should smell roasted rather than raw. Add hot water if it goes too thick. Add the cooked meat back to the pot. Let it warm through for ten minutes. Add the shredded greens to the pot.
7. Let them cook for about five minutes. Spinach wilts in a couple of minutes. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed. Add more chilli if you want more heat. Groundnut soup needs generous salting. Taste it properly right at the end. Serving it is always done hot. Make a mound of tuwo on each plate. Ladle the soup over or beside it. Both are done in Hausa households.

Technique

• Peanut is the foundation of this soup and cannot be left out or substituted, so say so clearly whenever you serve it; peanut allergy is common and can be severe.
• Loosen the groundnut paste with hot water into a smooth pourable cream before it goes in, since thick paste sits in lumps that never disperse. Then simmer it a full thirty minutes: raw paste tastes chalky and dull, and cooking develops the roasted flavour and releases the oil. Oil rising clear to the surface is the sign it has cooked, not a fault.
• Groundnut paste catches and burns bitter on the bottom, so stir every few minutes, keep the heat low and use a heavy pot. The Hausa soups are named by their thickener — this one groundnut, miyan kuka baobab leaf — while the meat and greens vary freely.

Substitutions

• Unsweetened smooth peanut butter stands in for groundnut paste; check the label, since a sweetened one ruins it.
• Goat stands in for beef, and spinach, sorrel or dried baobab leaf all serve as the greens.

Variations

• It is thickened purely by groundnut, with no flour or starch at all.
• Tuwo, the stiff millet or maize porridge, is pinched off by hand and dipped in.
• Some ladle the soup over the tuwo and others serve it in a separate bowl; both are done.

History

One of the core Hausa soups eaten with tuwo, thickened purely by ground peanuts.

Frequently asked questions

What is Miyan gyada?

Miyan gyada is a soup & stew from Niger: groundnut soup with meat and greens, ladled over tuwo. One of the core Hausa soups eaten with tuwo, thickened purely by ground peanuts.

How long does Miyan gyada take to make?

Miyan gyada takes 30 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Miyan gyada?

Yes, within limits. Unsweetened smooth peanut butter stands in for groundnut paste; check the label, since a sweetened one ruins it. Goat stands in for beef, and spinach, sorrel or dried baobab leaf all serve as the greens.

What is the most important thing to get right in Miyan gyada?

Cover the pot and lower the heat. Let it simmer for about an hour. Judging the meat takes a check. Simmer it on if it still resists. Lift the meat out onto a plate. Keep all of the cooking broth. Do not throw it away at any point. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the remaining chopped onion. Cook it for a good eight minutes. Add the crushed garlic in to it. Cook it for two more full minutes.