The bambara nuts contain a large amount of
protein. The nuts are grounded into flour and is the chief ingredient in the preparation of the Okpa pudding, a favourite delicacy in the eastern part of Nigeria, most especially Enugu state.
Okpa can serve as both breakfast, lunch and dinner. As mentioned earlier the Bambara nut has a high amount of protein and also helps lower cholesterol.
Ingredients
1. One pint of Bambara nuts if you have access to it; alternatively 3 cups of the Bambara flour
2. Nsukka pepper or red proper
3. 50 ml of fresh palm oil
4. 4-5 bullion/stock cubes
5. Salt to taste
6. Plantain/Banana leaves/Nylons/Aluminium cups
7. Warm water
Direction
1. If you are making use of the nuts, you’ll need to grind them into the bambara flour using a commercial mill, if you already have the flour you can move straight up into mixing
- Sift the flour into a bowl to rid it if impurities
- Create a hole at the centre of the bowl and pour in the entire oil, mixing it thoroughly till the flour goes from white to a bright orange colour or yellow colour
- Pour in the lukewarm water, the salt and the bullion cubes and thoroughly mix ensuring there are no lumps formed and that the consistency is neither too thick or too watery.
- Slice or grind your pepper and add it to the mix while still mixing the flour preferably with clean hands.
- Just as with moi-moi you’ll put water to boil while you are preparing the mix. So at the point of adding the pepper the water should be boiling
- After tasting for salt, you get a soup laddle and scoop the okpa flour into preferred package
N/B if you’re using the banana or plantain leaves, clean it by washing in salt water and dry it up before use as you can’t use fresh banana leaves to wrap okpa.
8. Place the firmly packaged okpa into the already boiling water and let it cook for an hour or until it solidifies.
Recent studies are showing that packaging food in nylons and waterproof is not ideal, so you can scrap out using waterproof and nylons and get the banana/plantain leaf wrap or alternatively get these little iron cups used in making moi-moi. Feel free to improve on the recipe by including vegetables of choice.
Sources:
Helen Okpala’s Kitchen
All Nigerian Recipes
