Liberian Beans Torborgee is the best Torborgee in the world, grab a spoon for a yummy spicy taste! In Liberian cuisine, Torborgee is a thick, palm-oily, spicy and bitter stew of African pea eggplants or red cow peas/lentils. The dish is often enriched by the addition of dried meat, chicken, pork, or fish, and it is usually associated with the Lorma people inhabiting the area of Lofa County in Liberia.
My beloved country of Liberia is located on the West Coast of Africa and is known to have some of the best dishes on the continent and Torborgee is one of them. There are seventeen ethnic groups in Liberia that make up the native African population – Kpelle, Bassa, Gio, Kru, Grebo, Mandingo, Mano, Krahn, Gola, Gbandi, Lorma, Kissi, Vai, Sapo, Belleh (Kuwaa), Mende and Dey.
Each of these different tribes like different kinds of soup and have special traditional ways to prepare them for their people. The Lorma people are a West African ethnic group living primarily in the northern regions of Guinea and Liberia and they are closely related to the Mende people. Torborgee is a specialty of the Lorma ethnic group in Liberia. Torborgee is a traditional staple dish cooked in the homes of Liberian at home and around the world. It is eaten with rice and can be prepared as: beans, pepper, bitter-ball, water-greens, fever-leaf, cassava torborgees.
Are you questioning which type of torborgee is my favorite? Lol… I enjoy anything Torborgee from Liberia, especially the spicy flavor, the more the spice the delicious the torborgee! In my household, we are frequently cooking beans, bitterball and water-greens torborsoay! Yes, “Torborgee” is commonly referred to as “Torbosoay.” Enough chatting, let’s get our ingredients and start cooking some spicy Liberian Beans Torborgee!
Liberian Beans Torborgee
Ingredients
- Meat Varieties (chicken, smoked fish, meat and seafood)
- 2 lbs Red Cow Peas (1 pack)
- African Red Palm Oil
- ½ tbsp Bicarbonate of Soda/ Country Soda
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 medium Onion, sliced
- 2 Habanero peppers (substitute for cayenne pepper)
- 1 ½ tbsp Chicken Flavor Bouillon
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Water
Instructions
- Add 5 cups of water and red cow peas to a large pot. (increase water content as required)
- Boil red cow peas on high-heat for one hour or more until peas are soften and set aside
- In a separate pot, Add meat varieties, dash of salt, onions, garlic powder, ground black pepper, cayenne and habanero peppers. Add water and parboil on medium heat for 30 mins.
- Remove parboiled meat varieties from broth and set aside.
- In the pot with broth, Add chicken Flavor Bouillon, mashed habanero peppers, remaining onions and bring to a boil.
- Add cooked red cow peas and stir evenly.
- Cook red cow peas on medium-heat for 45 mins, until broth simmers down.
- Add meat varieties to cooking pot of beans and any seasonings needed.
- On low-heat, Add red palm oil to pot of beans and stir evenly.
- Mix Bicarbonate of Soda and a dash of water. Add soda mixture to pot of beans. This is the ingredient that gives the soup that special taste and makes the soup different from other bean soup.
- When the soda is added, it makes the soup to foam a lot. In this way, the real Torborgee is cooked.
- Turn off heat and cool down for 10 mins.
- Served Liberian Beans Torborgee with Rice
Video
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Real Toboghee has to use Toboghee oil; which is fermented palm oil and widely available in African food stores; it reacts w country soda to give it that special flavor.
Hi Andrew, thanks for visiting us and your feedback. Yes, Torborgee or palm oil can be used for all Torborgee dishes, the main ingredient is the country soda.