Simple Okpa Recipe

   Simple Okpa Recipe 

Okpa di oku, Okpa di oku, Okpa! Okpa!! Okpa!!! If you are travelling to Enugu, Nigeria from Onitsha, Lagos etc, anywhere from the west of Enugu, these shouts from Okpa sellers will remind you that you are approaching Enugu.

The secret to making the best Okpa is to use more natural ingredients as possible because okpa beans (Bambara Groundnut or Bambara Beans) have a naturally delicious flavour. This flavour is ruined when people start adding lots of seasoning and spices to the meal. We would not use any seasoning cube in today's recipe, even though I listed it as one of the ingredients. 

Other names for Okpa are Igba and Ntucha.

YOU CAN BUY YOUR OKPA FLOUR FROM OUR AMAZON STORE .  BUY HERE

 

SERVING:                                                 DURATION:                                       COST:   

 6 Persons                                                      2 Hours                                            $8 (#3500)                                                                                                                                  as at 2021

Ingredients for Okpa

• 3 cigar cups | 450g | 1lb Okpa flour

• 15 Tps red palm oil

• 2 Seasoning  cubes (optional)

• Salt (to taste)

• 2 medium-size Onions

• Scent Leave

• 4 Tps Crayfish

• Fresh or Dry Pepper (to taste)

• 1.2 litres lukewarm/tepid water

• Okpa wrappers 

Direction: ( How To Mix The Okpa Flour)

       

1. 

    Sieve your Okpa flour, to remove chaff and insoluble materials. You must do this if you want to get a    smooth feel and lump-free mixture. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
2.  Add oil, crayfish and pepper to the sieved flour. If you are going to use hand to your hands to combine the mixture avoid putting pepper.
3. Add Salt and Seasoning cubes(optional) 
   
   
   
   
            
4. Mix all ingredients together and make sure you added enough oil to give it a bright yellow colour. Do not use any colourant as it is unhealthy, palm oil is all you need.
   Mixing with the hand can be difficult because of the pepper, you can use a spatula, or whisk to combine the okpa flour.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Gradually add the warm water in small scoops to the flour in the bowl. Be sure to mix well or thoroughly to prevent lumps from forming. If you cannot use your hand and the spatula to obtain a smooth paste, I recommend you use a blender to gently mix them. You can equally use a strainer to sift out the lumps and crush them.
   
   
   
   
   
6.  Now the Okpa flour has been thoroughly mixed, it is time to wrap it in either a leaf wrap, foil, pouch, or nylon. 
   I will advise you to use the foil, leaf or pouch to wrap your okpa.

Read More About The Moi Moi Pouch That You Can Use To Wrap Your Okpa

HOW TO WRAP YOUR OKPA IN LEAF

• Submerge the leaves in water and wash properly with a clean sponge
• Trim off the stem with scissors or a kitchen knife.
• Gently break the stem part in between the leaves (every 1inch apart) halfway
• Place 2 leaves on each other holding with your left palm (I prefer using the outer part of the leaves)
• Fold the left end part of the leaves, make a cone-like wrap just once (make sure the end of the folded cone is closed.
• Still holding the leaves with your left palm, now use the right part of the leaves to wrap around the left cone. making sure you wrap the left cone ends tightly.
• Hold the cone with your left palm
• Make a dent with your hand just above the ends of the cone
• Then bend the end backwards away from you
• The back should look like this
• Holding firmly with your left palm, use your right hand to scoop in the beans mix into the wrapped leaves (make sure the beans does not go above the short wrapped part of the leaves facing you to avoid spillage)
• Add any condiment you choose to add
• Still holding the wrapped leaf with your left palm firmly, bend the top left end of the leaves, to the right
• Then bend in the right top part of the leaves to the left un-top the left end.
• Finally, make a dent holding both top ends just above the beans filling and bend backwards
• Place on a deep pot lined with leaves(you can use the stem cut-outs of the leaves as a base before laying the leaf on top
• Repeat steps until you are done with the beans mixture
• Add boiling water carefully to the pot
• Cover the top with the leaves to trap in the steam and leave flavour
• Cover the pot with a lid
• Cook it for about 45 - 50 minutes

For breakfast, serve with a cocoa drink (Milo, Ovaltine drink), Akamu or Ogi, custard meal or oatmeal. For lunch or dinner, serve with soaked Garri (asoki). You can also eat it as a snack with a chilled drink.