amala recipe
How to make the Easiest Lump free Amala
Amala is a traditional Yoruba food. It is made with yam flour (elubo) mixed in hot water and cooked to form a soft cooked doughy texture. Making of amala can be challenging because of lumps. It requires skills and practice to be able to make the perfect amala.
Directions
- Heat up 2 cups of water on medium heat and bring to a boil.
- As soon as water comes to a boil, add 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups of room temperature water gradually to the amala flour (elubo) and mix until it forms a loose (puree like) consistency.
- Split the boiling water into two equal parts (one cup each). Save one part for later (to add to the cooked amala instead of cold water) and other part should be in the pan for the amala mixture.
- Pour the amala mixture into the pan that has 1 cup of boiling water and mix. Continue to stir until it forms a semi solid texture. It is going to go through so many processes from loose to soft lumps and then semi solid. Once it forms soft lumps, don't panic, just knead it against the side of the pan. Just the way you make any type of swallow. The soft lumps will eventually disappear to form a silky soft texture.
- Add about a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of hot water (from the saved hot water) to the amala and cover to cook for a few minutes (3 - 4 minutes). The knead some more for a few minutes and amala is ready.
- The amala will be soft at this point but becomes more solid as it cools down.
Ingredients
1 cup amala flour (elubo)
3 1/2 cups water (you might not use up all the water)
Soft Amala
Ewedu soup | Jute leaves soup
2 easy ways to cook Ewedu soup
Ewedu is a traditional Yoruba soup. It is also a part of the trinity meal (gbegiri, ewedu & obe ata) known as abula that is enjoyed amala. Ewedu leaves also known as jute leaves is a very viscous/slimy leaves. It is very important for the soup to be very viscous that's why you should know how to make it. A lot have been said about the health benefits of eating ewedu soup which should not take away from how delicious the soup is. There is a traditional way of making the soup but I am going to show you how to make it 2 ways using a blender.
Directions
1st Method
- Pluck the leaves and get rid of the stems.
- Rinse the leave thoroughly when you are using fresh leave to remove every dirt.
- Blend the leaves with enough water to move the blade of the blend or the amount water needed to cook the leaves. Blend to your desired smoothness.
- Pour the blended leaves into the pot and cook it over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add more water if the soup is too thick.
- After 5 minutes, add the crayfish, fermented locust beans, salt and seasoning cube. Cook for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring it.
2nd Method
- Pluck the leaves and get rid of the stems.
- Rinse the leave thoroughly when you are using fresh leave to remove every dirt.
- Transfer the washed leaves or thwarted leaves into a pot, add enough water depending on the consistency you are going for. Cook over medium heat for about 5 minutes.
- After minutes and while the leaves is still in the pot, blend the leaves with a hand blender. Alternatively, you could remove it from heat, let it cool a bit, then transfer into a blender and blend until you have achieved your desired smoothness. Then transfer back to the pot and bring it to a boil.
- Add the fermented locust beans, ground crayfish, salt and seasoning cube and cook for another 5 minutes
- In case the leaves are not very slimy, you could add a little bit of potash/akaun or baking soda. A little goes a long way.
Ingredients
- 16 oz Ewedu leaves
- 2 tbsp crayfish
- 2 tbsp fermented locust beans/Iru/Dadawa
- Salt to taste
- 1/2 maggi cube
Gbegiri soup | beans soup
Easiest & tastiest Gbegiri soup
Gbegiri is a traditional Yoruba beans soup. It is also a part of the trinity meal ( gbegiri, ewedu & obe ata) known as abula that is enjoyed amala. Gbegiri can also be eaten by itself without ewedu and obe ata, and in that case, you need to add more ingredients to give it a balanced flavor.
Directions
- Wash and peel beans. Cook peeled beans until done.
- Add palm oil and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes
- After 10 minutes, add seasoning cube, dried pepper, ground crayfish, salt; stir and cover to cook for about 30 -35 minutes. At this point, it would have cooked down and the beans is already breaking down.
- With a hand blender (immersion blender), blend beans until it is smooth. Add water or meat stock to lighten the soup if too thick. Add water until you reach your desired consistency. Once smooth, cook for 1 - 2 minutes and the soup is done.
Ingredients
1 cup brown beans
1 - 2 tbsp ground crayfish
Dried ground pepper
3 - 4 tbsp palm oil
1/2 seasoning cube
Salt