West Africa · Street food

Oleleh (Steamed Savory Black-Eyed Pea Pudding)

Name: Oleleh (Steamed Savory Black-Eyed Pea Pudding)
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Sierra Leone
Ingredients: 400 g dry black-eyed peas (soaked 2 hours and skins removed); 120 ml unrefined red palm oil; 150 g smoked bonga fish (deboned, skinned, flaked into pieces); 150 g red onions (roughly chopped); 2 piece Scotch bonnet peppers (stemmed); 20 g ground dried crayfish powder; 3 piece hard-boiled eggs (shelled and quartered into 12 segments); 250 ml warm fish stock (or warm water); 5 g fine sea salt; 5 g Maggi seasoning cube (crushed); 12 piece fresh banana leaf rectangles (20x25cm, softened over flame); lukewarm water (for steamer pot base), to taste

Silky steamed black-eyed bean parcels enriched with flaked smoked fish, red palm oil, and boiled eggs in banana leaves.

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olelehsteamedkrio-cuisinestreet-food

The story

Cherished by Krio and Temne communities throughout Sierra Leone, Oleleh is a staple street food snack and an essential fixture at traditional naming ceremonies and weddings. Related to broader West African steamed bean puddings, the Sierra Leonean preparation is distinguished by its heavy incorporation of unrefined red palm oil and generous flakes of hot-smoked bonga fish. The crucial technique lies in incorporating trapped air into the wet bean batter prior to wrapping, which produces an ethereal, soufflé-soft texture upon steaming.

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