Azinkokoui aux Bloms (Azinkokoui with Blom Sausages)

Azinkokoui aux Bloms (Azinkokoui with Blom Sausages) is a traditional Togolese (from Togo) recipe for classic stew of bloms sausages in a bambara groundnut sauce. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Togolese version of: Azinkokoui with Blom Sausages (Azinkokoui aux Bloms).

prep time

120 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

150 minutes

Serves:

4–6

Rating:

Tags : Chilli Recipes Pork Recipes Vegetable Recipes Bean Recipes Togo Recipes

Azinkokoui are very similar to chickpeas, indeed they are often called 'togolese chickpeas'. They are prepared and cooked in the same way, but do have a different, nuttier flavour. You can make this dish with ordinary chickpeas, but the flavour will not be exactly the same. Botanically, they are bambara groundnuts (Voandzeia subterranea).

Bloms are skinless sausages made from a blend of offal and spices that are poached and then fried to finish. Typically these are made from pork, but they can also be made of mutton.

Ingredients:

500g azinkokoui (bambara groundnuts)
12 blom sausages
2 tomatoes, chopped and crushed
1 small tin of tomato purée
3 tbsp n'toutou
250ml olive oil
1 green bell pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 onion
3 hot green chillies, stems removed but left whole
2 carrots, sliced into rounds

Method:

Pick over the azinkokoui, wash and add to a large pan with 2l water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, partly cover and cook for about 2 hours or until soft (they should be soft enough to be crushed between thumb and forefinger).

Drain the beans and reserve 1/3. Mash the remainder into a smooth paste then mix in the crushed tomatoes and the n'toutou.

Heat the oil in a pan and use to fry the onion and the tomato purée for about 4 minutes, or until the tomatoes are tender and the tomato purée has darkened. Add the mashed bean mixture and the carrots and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly (if it's too thick add a little water).

Crumble in the stock cubes, add the bell peppers, chillies, blom sausages and reserved azinkokoui and cook for about 10 minutes more or until heated through.

Serve hot accompanied by rice or gari.