Moin Moin

Rinse the black-eyed peas, cover with water and let soak for 60 minutes so the beans soften. Drain, rub the beans between your palms and rinse until the skins float to the top; peel the beans completely.

Hard-boil the eggs: place them in a small saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil and cook for 9 minutes. Cool, peel, and cut each egg into 4 pieces.

Transfer the peeled beans to a blender. Add the red bell pepper, hot pepper, onion, water and ground dried crayfish; blend until completely smooth and thick, with no whole beans left.

Pour the mixture into a bowl, stir in the palm oil, ground nutmeg and salt. Mix for 2 minutes to aerate the batter; it should be pourable but not watery.

Pour a layer of the batter into each heatproof mold, place a quarter of a boiled egg in the center, then cover with more batter, leaving 1 cm of space at the top.

Set the molds on a rack in a deep pot, pour hot water into the pot to reach halfway up the molds, cover with a lid and steam for 45 minutes after the water comes to a boil. Top up with hot water as needed to keep the pot from running dry.

Check for doneness with a knife or skewer: it should come out nearly clean, and the center should hold its shape. Let the moin moin rest for 10 minutes, then serve warm as a main dish or side.