I love moin moin, akara and co, but peeling the beans is such a headache! So, I was thinking, maybe there's something I'm doing wrong? How do you peel beans? How long does it take you? Any "secret" to make it easy and fast?

Many thanks !

Such is life.'Sise koro jije ofe'
Before u start such tin u too should knw dat it involves stressful process.
Atimes,it depends on d type of beans u are using,sum are easy while sum can b difficult.
So if u knw u want d moin moin or wateva 2 b ready in abt 3hrs time,soak d beans inside warm water abt an hour b4 dat time,by den d beans wud have becum soft n it wil b easy 2 do or remove d back.

I soak the beans in warm water overnight and the next day wash by 'peeling' off skin. This take about 15-20 minutes. The stress that comes with preparing moin-moin.

That is more or less what I'm doing, maybe I should soak them for a longer time though. As for the peeling, do you also just kind of "scrub" them together and rinse them until they are peeled?

I've heard we can buy some already peeled beans but can't find any where i'm staying, have you tried that before?

Miss_Ife:

That is more or less what I'm doing, maybe I should soak them for a longer time though. As for the peeling, do you also just kind of "scrub" them together and rinse them until they are peeled?

I've heard we can buy some already peeled beans but can't find any where i'm staying,  have you tried that before?

Perhaps, you should soak for a longer time.  Yes, I ''squeeze'' and continuously change water until the beans is clean.
No, I always wash my beans myself. . .I've never used the already peeled or ground one.

**This happens to be a Miss(es) thread** #justthinking 

what are you soaking for a long time , abeg get mortar and pestle and pound yeye out of the beans
i don't soak mine. i just pour the amount i want in the mortar, add some water to it and pound.
sometimes i soak it for 10minute and then pound. I get my bean washed in 15 mins.

armyofone:

what are you soaking for a long time  , abeg get mortar and pestle and pound yeye out of the beans
i don't soak mine. i just pour the amount i want in the mortar, add some water to it and pound.
sometimes i soak it for 10minute and then pound. get my bean washed in 15 mins.

Never heard of this one and besides, I nor get mortar here.

oh well, my mom sent me a small mortar and pestle,a mini mortar and pestle and it does a great job for my beans. all the reason why i make moin moin and akara any how
sweet mother.

@armyofone, I can get mortar and pestle here, but if your beans are crashed into small pieces, don't you lose some bits going with the peels as you rinse them?

Hi Miss. Ife,

first, the mortar i use is a mini mortar and pestle. one that can sit on my kitchen counter.
actually, you crush by moving the pestle around the bean inside the mortar. you don't pound like pounding yam how do i explain it now 
if you have mini mortar and pestle, you soak the bean for like 10 to 15mins. then pour the soaked bean inside the mortar and crush (not pound  ) crush till you see the skin peeling off which is just a few mins. Note that the longer you soak the bean (if using mortar) the more your bean breaks into bits. so don't soak for more than 30mins. after crushing my beans, some break out in halves while the rest remain whole and it's all good while rinsing them. few that come into the sieve, i pick out. so easy 

1st try, don't give up. by the time you start using MM&P, you will love it, wash and make moin moin and akara all the time and in nano second  . really it is easier than all the other ways of peeling black eye beans.

armyofone, this is the secret I was looking for

I will try to get mortar and pestle, it might take me some time though, and see how it works. Will let you know when I do (can't wait to eat akara and moin moin every week )

you definitely will. just get your MM&P and you are set. again, 1st timer with MM&P, take it easy with yourself
i can just wake up one morning and want fresh akara, fiam, off to my beans and mortar at 7am. by 7:30am, already wacking

watch 1:43 to 1:44


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUPNL814ywg&list=PL56E8A7EADCCB9BA1&index=4&feature=plpp

also


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5X6B7hCi8s

tpia, nice one there with Mr. Oliver. my MM&P is much bigger than those but not as big as regular one for pounding iyan.

the food processor idea is good too.

^^i couldnt find anything for the op, on peeling beans with mortar.

that was the closest i think.

i usually peel mine by hand but i remember we might have used mortar for "ase".

yeah, my peeling with hand is just too long. so i dont do it as i don't have the time. i was just gisting with my mom once that i missed eating moin moin cuz of the process. when she saw my coursemate in nig, she bought mini mortar and pestle and sent them to me thru her. so far so good.

^^nice.

You can also put the beans with a little water in the blender. Don't blend like you are trying to grind the beans, blend the beans with the grate key. Just press it on and off (I mean immediately, that is 1 or 2 seconds, cause awon boys will leave the thing to go ). Like press the grate key at least three times, then pour it out and start washing. When you get the hang of it, you'll become a pro., and you can eliminate the soaking part. The blender supplements for mortar for those that dont have it. But check a local african store they should have a small mortar.

@poster
Soak the beans for 10 to 15 minutes and start rubbing them together. The beans skin should come off easily. The longer you soak the beans the more difficult to peel.

I usually do the peeling in the evening and after cleaning/peeling all the beans I will soak them in water overnight (about 8 hours) then blend with a Blender for Akara or Moin moin.

Unless you are peeling lots of beans you really don't need mortal & pestle (although the exercise is good for your muscle). You can also try grating the beans gently with the Blender as suggested by another poster.

Good luck in your Akara & Moin Moin recipe

Iranoladun:

@poster
Soak the beans for 10 to 15 minutes and start rubbing them together. The beans skin should come off easily. The longer you soak the beans the more difficult to peel.
I usually do the peeling in the evening and after cleaning/peeling all the beans I will soak them in water overnight (about 8 hours) then blend with a Blender for Akara or Moin moin.

Unless you are peeling lots of beans you really don't need mortal & pestle (although the exercise is good for your muscle). You can also try grating the beans gently with the Blender as suggested by another poster.

Good luck in your Akara & Moin Moin recipe

I could have sworn the reverse is the case.

Many good advices here, will try with the blender until I can get a mortar and pestle. I always cook "big" amounts of food, it seems the more I cook, the more they eat, sometimes I make soup to last for few days, next thing I know, it's already gone!

As for the soaking, I also thought it would be easier if the beans are soaked for a longer time. It seems it is still necessary to soak them for few hours to use the blender to peel them (on the video the lady says they soaked for several hours).

@Miss*B
The beans skin get soft first if you soak for 15 minutes with luke warm water hence they are easy to peel whether by hand, blender or mortar and pestle.

I make Akara or Moin Moin on the average of 3 times per week so I know. Its after removing the skin that you soak for a long time 6-8 hours in preparation for blending/grinding

Ah! I see! Maybe I should try washing after the first 15 minutes to see. Good thing if it works for me, less work
Plus, am I the only one that does not soak again after removing the skin?

BTW, the first 5 steps are exactly my method -> http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2009/01/moin-moin-nigerian-savory-black-eyed.html

Hi, Is there any machine which can peel the bean. Why not invent some machine to do that, haha

armyofone: what are you soaking for a long time , abeg get mortar and pestle and pound yeye out of the beans
i don't soak mine. i just pour the amount i want in the mortar, add some water to it and pound.
sometimes i soak it for 10minute and then pound. get my bean washed in 15 mins.

thats the easiest way to wash beans, cos i hate washing beans so much, i usually pound it in large quantity, when i remove it from the morter i dry it in the sun, once its dry i rub the beans with my hands, put it on a round try and blow out the back, then i store in a cool dry place, whenever i wanna make moi moi or akara i just take the quantity i need rinse it out and soak for a few hours b/4 grinding.

Those of you soaking beans overnight or over an hour, I dont know what kind of beans y'all are using (I use 'Drum' btw). I agree with iranoladun, the longer you soak the beans, the more difficult it is to peel. The beans soaks up water, becomes too soft and breaks as i peel. I usually soak my beans in lukewarm water for about 15 mins and the peel comes off immediately. the entire process takes another 15 mins or so. I will never forget the day i left beans soaking for over an hour to attend to a visitor. Peeling was HELL.

Haba peeling beans no be wahala at all o,its all bout timing,I soak the beans(brown beans)for 5mins only(yea I actually time it) then wash,and immedately the back starts coming off,another trick is to kip changing d water as d peel comes off the beans,it makes the beans less slimy and easier to wash

Anoda trick to washing is for u to make a fist with ur left hand and then with ur right hand scoop the beans in ur palm and rub hard over the fist

I concur, just blanch them in cold water and the peels come off really easily.

pick stones outta the beans and blend in a blender. Dont blend to powder form just to pieces, them put in a bowl of water and all the rubber floats up. Pick it out and your beans is ready to grind.

peel skin off the bean by hand, it is really boring. Those days I have found one machine which can peel bean, and i share the photo for you guys for your opinions, haha

Harold519: peel skin off the bean by hand, it is really boring. Those days I have found one machine which can peel bean, and i share the photo for you guys for your opinions, haha

@Harold, thot you were going to post the machine's pix as well. Can u pls do? I peel my beans easily with blender. Let's see if this your machine can perform better than blender.

@All, has anyone tried peeling dry beans with blender as in getting the result above?