Amala & Ewedu + Gbegiri

Amala and ewedu is Yoruba comfort food at its most authentic — a dark, earthy swallow with a pair of soups that most non-Yoruba first find surprising and then crave. Amala is made from yam flour (elubo), stirred into hot water into a smooth, dark-brown mound; it is cheaper than pounded yam and cooks in minutes, which is a big part of its everyday appeal. The colour throws people off at first, but the taste is mild and the texture wonderfully soft.

The soups are the heart of it. Ewedu (jute leaves) is boiled and beaten or blended to a light, slightly slippery green soup, usually cooked with a little potash and locust bean; it is almost always served with gbegiri (a smooth bean soup) and a pepper stew (obe ata) over it, the trio poured together so the plate runs three colours. Each is cheap on its own — leaves, beans, pepper — which keeps the whole meal economical.

On value, amala with ewedu and gbegiri is a genuinely budget dish that eats like a treat. The elubo is inexpensive, the soups are made from cheap staples, and a pot of each stretches across days. Add assorted meat or ponmo (cow skin) when you can, but even plain it is deeply satisfying — the reason bukas across Lagos build their reputation on how well they make it.