Iru

Step 1: Rinse the 1 ⅛ lb dried African locust bean seeds, put them in a large pot with the 4 litres water and boil over a medium heat for 5–6 hours (or 1½ hours in a pressure cooker), topping up with boiling water, until the black hulls soften and split when squeezed.

Step 2: Drain and, while warm, rub the beans hard between your palms or pound them lightly in a mortar to loosen the hulls.

Step 3: Tip into a big bowl of water and swirl; the black hulls float and can be poured off. Repeat until you are left with clean yellow-cream cotyledons.

Step 4: Boil the cleaned beans in fresh water for 1 hour until soft, then drain thoroughly while hot.

Step 5: Wilt the 4 banana or plantain leaves over a gas flame for a few seconds so they fold without tearing, line a basket or bowl with them, pile in the hot beans and wrap tightly.

Step 6: Keep at 35–104°F for 2–3 days (oven with only the light on, or a cooler box with a hot-water bottle changed twice a day). Normal: a strong ammonia smell, a sticky white coating and threads when you lift a bean. Bad: fuzzy green, black or pink mould, a sour-rotten smell like spoiled meat, or grey slime — throw it all away.

Step 7: Unwrap, mix in the ½ oz salt, and leave whole for iru woro or mash roughly for iru pete.

Step 8: Keep in a covered jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or freeze in small portions for 6 months. Always fry or simmer it in stew before eating; a tablespoon seasons a pot for four.