Koki

Ingredients

Beans

• 600 gdried black-eyed peas, or cowpeas
• water, for soaking

To season

• 200 mlred palm oil
• 2hot chillies, chopped
• 1onion, roughly chopped
• 2 tbspground crayfish
• 1stock cube
• salt

Sometimes added

• 150 gcocoyam leaves, or spinach, shredded
• smoked fish, flaked

Wrapping

• banana leaves, cut into rectangles
• kitchen string

To serve

• boiled ripe plantain
• boiled cassava

Directions

1. Put the dried black-eyed peas in a large bowl. Cover them with plenty of cold water and soak them overnight. Rub handfuls of the soaked beans hard between your palms. Pour off the floating skins with the water.
2. Add fresh water and repeat until almost no skins remain. This takes several rounds and there is no way to shortcut it. Drain the skinned beans thoroughly. Grind them with the onion and chillies in a blender or a mill. Add as little water as you can, only enough to let it turn. A wet paste will never set properly in the leaves.
3. Grind it until completely smooth with no grittiness left. The bowl needs to be large, since the paste expands as you beat it. Beat the paste hard with a wooden spoon or your hand. Beat it for at least ten minutes before adding anything. If it floats, enough air has been beaten in.
4. Warm the red palm oil gently until it is liquid but not hot. Add it to the paste a little at a time while beating. Beat each addition in fully before adding more. It should look glossy and hold soft peaks. Beat in the ground crayfish, the stock cube and salt.
5. Add hot water a spoonful at a time if the paste is very stiff. It should be thick but spoonable, like a heavy cake batter. Fold in the shredded leaves or flaked smoked fish if using. Taste a small amount and adjust the salt and chilli. Now the leaves, which need to be made pliable.
6. Lay a leaf rectangle shiny side up. Spoon a portion of the paste into the centre. Fold the sides in over the paste, overlapping them. Fold the ends up and tuck them underneath. Tie each parcel firmly with string.
7. Leave a little room, since the paste swells as it cooks. Now steaming, which takes a long time. Line the base of a large pot with spare leaves and stalks. Stack the parcels on top of them. Pour water into the bottom, below the level of the parcels.
8. Cover the pot and bring it to a steady boil. Steam them for an hour and a half. Check the water halfway and top it up with boiling water. Take one out and let it rest for five minutes. Open it: the koki should be firm and hold its shape. Return it and steam for another twenty minutes if it is still soft. Now serving, which is done hot. Serve the parcels closed and let each person open their own.

Technique

• Skin the beans completely, since skins left in make the pudding grey and heavy.
• Beat air into the paste until a spoonful floats in water; that is what makes it spongy.
• Add the palm oil gradually, or the mixture splits and goes greasy.

Substitutions

• Foil in place of banana leaves, though the flavour is lost.
• Spinach in place of cocoyam leaves.

Variations

• Koki corn, made from fresh maize instead of beans.
• With smoked fish beaten through.
• With cocoyam leaves folded in, which is common on the coast.

History

Ground cowpea batter beaten with palm oil and steamed in banana leaves, a dish of the west and coast served at ceremonies.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koki?

Koki is a main from Cameroon: steamed cowpea and palm-oil pudding wrapped in banana leaves. Ground cowpea batter beaten with palm oil and steamed in banana leaves, a dish of the west and coast served at ceremonies.

How long does Koki take to make?

Koki takes 1 hour plus overnight soaking of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 parcels. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Koki?

Yes, within limits. Foil in place of banana leaves, though the flavour is lost. Spinach in place of cocoyam leaves.

What is the most important thing to get right in Koki?

Add fresh water and repeat until almost no skins remain. This takes several rounds and there is no way to shortcut it. Drain the skinned beans thoroughly. Grind them with the onion and chillies in a blender or a mill. Add as little water as you can, only enough to let it turn. A wet paste will never set properly in the leaves.