Okpa

Ingredients

Base

• 500 gokpa flour, ground bambara groundnut
• 800 mlwarm water, as needed

Also

• 150 mlred palm oil
• 1 tspfood-grade akanwu, edible potash, or ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 50 mlwarm water, for the potash

Seasoning

• 2scotch bonnets, blended
• 1onion, blended
• 2stock cubes
• 2 tspsalt

Optional

• 2eggs, sliced
• smoked fish, flaked

Wrapping

• banana leaves, or clean plastic bags, or ramekins

Directions

1. Use only food-grade akanwu sold for cooking and use the small amount specified. It is there to give okpa its yellow colour and smooth set, and bicarbonate of soda does the same job if you prefer.
2. Put the okpa flour in a wide bowl and add warm water gradually, whisking to a completely smooth batter. Add the water slowly and whisk hard, because bambara flour lumps badly and the lumps do not cook out. The batter should be thick but pourable, roughly like a thick pancake batter.
3. Beat in the palm oil, and beat it hard for 3 or 4 minutes. Add the potash water, the blended pepper and onion, the stock cubes and the salt. Taste the raw batter for salt, which is safe with a legume flour and is the only chance you get. Soften banana leaves briefly over a flame until they turn glossy and pliable.
4. Fold each leaf into a cone, spoon in the batter, and fold the top over to seal. Fill them only two-thirds. Add a slice of egg or a piece of smoked fish before sealing if you want it.
5. Stand the parcels upright in a steamer, packed against each other so they hold each other up. Steam over a steady simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
6. Top up with boiling water rather than cold, which would stop the cooking and give a sunken middle. Do not open the steamer for the first half hour, because escaping steam collapses the setting batter.
7. Let them rest 10 minutes before unwrapping, because they firm up further as they cool slightly. Serve hot in the leaf, eaten with a spoon or with the fingers, with hot pap or bread.

Technique

• Okpa flour is sold in Nigerian shops and keeps for months in a sealed jar.
• It is dense and filling and one parcel is a full breakfast.
• Bambara groundnut is drought-tolerant and grows where other legumes fail, which is why it is a staple where it is.

Substitutions

• Bicarbonate of soda in place of akanwu, at about half the quantity.
• Foil or ramekins in place of banana leaves, which loses the perfume.

Variations

• With egg and smoked fish inside.
• Made plain, with no pepper.
• Moin moin, the bean version.

History

The signature breakfast of Nsukka and the Enugu hills, built on bambara groundnut, a legume native to West Africa.

Frequently asked questions

What is Okpa?

Okpa is a breakfast from Nigeria: dense steamed pudding of bambara nut flour, sold hot in leaf parcels. The signature breakfast of Nsukka and the Enugu hills, built on bambara groundnut, a legume native to West Africa.

How long does Okpa take to make?

Okpa takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 parcels. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Okpa?

Yes, within limits. Bicarbonate of soda in place of akanwu, at about half the quantity. Foil or ramekins in place of banana leaves, which loses the perfume.

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

Put the okpa flour in a wide bowl and add warm water gradually, whisking to a completely smooth batter. Add the water slowly and whisk hard, because bambara flour lumps badly and the lumps do not cook out. The batter should be thick but pourable, roughly like a thick pancake batter.