HuldaEru is a popular recipe in Cameroon, it is loved by almost everyone. Eru is mainly made from vegetables, meat, and palm oil. It can be enjoyed with water fufu (fermented cassava dough) or another type of fufu.
What ingredients do I need?
Eru is made with two different kinds of vegetables: Eru and water leaves. Those living in Cameroon they can easily buy these leaves fresh from the market, but those living abroad like me, can get Eru leaves from some Afro shop. Unfortunately, we don’t easily get water leaves from Afroshops, but we can replace them with fresh spinach leaves.
Eru Leaves also called Okazi, Mfumbwa, and Ukase depending on the countries are scientifically known as Gnetum africanum leaves. These leaves are wild vegetables that grow approximately 8m long and are found in tropical forest regions like Cameroon, Gabon, Congo or Angola… These leaves can be used for medical reasons as well as nutritional purposes. They are rich in protein and nutritional values.
People usually cook Eru with lots of meat and oil. As for me, I don’t usually use lots of meat and oil in my cooking, but you are free to double the quantity of meat and oil if you prefer.
When all the ingredients are ready, cooking this meal is very simple. You just need to mix the vegetables together with the oil and let them fry, then add the remaining ingredients and cook. Please follow the instructions below for more details.
How to prepare the ingredients?
If you are using fresh spinach, wash it with a good amount of water and sieve it. If you are using frozen spinach, it is advisable to start defrosting it overnight and sieve it.
The Eru leaves need to be washed thoroughly because they usually contain a lot of dirt. Wash them with a good quantity of water. Change the water at least 3 times to make sure it is properly clean. Place the leaves into a sieve and put them aside.
Keynotes
- Make sure you wash the vegetables very well before use.
- Use a pot that doesn’t easily burn food
Eru Recipe
Ingredients
- 400 g fresh Eru leaves or 120g dry Eru leaves
- 1 kg Spinach
- 1 kg Meat (Cow skin, Beef meat, etc..)
- smoked fish to your taste optional
- salt to taste
- 1 onion
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 50 g crayfish
- palm oil to taste
- 3 hot pepper
Instructions
- Clean the Cow skin and beef meat, and cut them into bite-size pieces. Put them into a pot. Add onion, black pepper, salt, and water (water should be at the same level as meat). Cook it on medium heat until tender. Check regularly to see if the beef meat is ready, as the Cow skin takes longer to cook. When the beef meat is ready, remove it from the pot. Let the cow skin continue cooking until it reaches the desired tenderness.
- Clean and wash the smoked fish, put it in another pot, and cook it until soft and tender. Meanwhile, wash the eru leaves thoroughly and soak them in hot water for about 15 minutes to make them soft.
- Wash the Eru leaves thoroughly by changing the water you are using at least 2 times, then drain them.
- Combine all the cooked meat and smoked fish in one pot, and add the washed and drained eru leaves and spinach (or water leaves). Stir and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes. If the mixture is too dry, add a small amount of stock from the meat.
- Then add crayfish, the palm oil and hot pepper. Let it cook for a few minutes on low heat.
- Taste and adjust with the salt if needed. Stir and let it simmer for a few minutes and it is ready. Enjoy!
Video
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