EKO and AKARA are very common breakfast dishes among the Yoruba people of South-western and other parts of Nigeria. The cuisine has spread all over Nigeria now and this is not surprising because the dishes are very interesting and satisfying when taken together for breakfast. But be warned that the initial preparations require a lot of care to get a good result. We'll divide the initial preparations into two stages:
1. Preparation of the maize seeds into "OGI". It is from the Ogi that the Eko will be made.
2. Preparation of the beans seeds into a paste from which the Akara is fried.
PREPARATION OF THE OGI
1. Soak 3-4 kilograms of clean selected dry maize seeds or corn into warm water in a large bowl overnight or for at least 12 hours. The maize should be from a well dried crop and not a freshly harvested crop. All broken and weevil pieces should be taken out before the maize seed are soaked in water.
2. Take the soaked maize seeds out of the water and let the water drain off. Add more clean water and drain again. Grind as finely as possible with a liquidizer or a kitchen grinder.
3. Add some clean water to the ground maize and shift it with a fine shifter. The idea is to separate the chaff from the maize gelatine. Discard the chaff. Add some more water to the ground maize and put it aside to allow the maize gelatine to settle to the bottom of the bowl while the water comes to the top. Carefully separate the water from the ground maize.
4. The ground maize gelatine could then be put in small plastic dishes with cover and stored in your fridge. The stuff you have is called Ogi and could be used for a week or two to make your Eko. Ogi can be bought in some local markets here but we like to make our own to ensure hygienic preparation.
MAKING YOUR EKO
1. Take as much of the Ogi you may need from the fridge and mix it with water in a small pot.
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We think about 4
tablespoon full of Ogi will do for one person.
2. Boil some water in a kettle and pour the boiling water into the Ogi, stirring vigorously to avoid codling. Let it simmer until it thickens. That is the Eko. Some like to add sugar to the Eko but we like it without sugar.
PREPARATION OF THE BEANS FOR AKARA
1. Like in the case of the maize crop, the beans must be well dried and free from spoilt and weevil pieces. Unlike Ogi, you should prepare just the quantity you want for each meal and not a large bulk for several meals. The reason for this is that ground beans will not keep well even in the fridge. One tea cup full of beans is roughly what you'll require to make enough Akara for one person.
2. Soak the beans in warm water for about 30-60 minutes to soften the outer skin. Rub the beans together with hand to separate the skin. Use a shifter to remove the skin. Discard this chaff.
3. Add some fresh chilli and onions to the prepared beans and grind the lot together with your liquidizer as finely as possible. Add salt to taste and keep aside. We'll call this the Akara mixture or paste. Note that the Akara mixture should not be watery otherwise it will not fry properly.
FRYING YOUR AKARA BALLS
1. Put some frying oil like groundnut oil, palm oil etc., into your frying pan and fry the mixture just as you fry doughnuts - one tablespoon full of the mixture for a ball of Akara. Turn the frying Akara over and over to avoid burning.
2. That is all there is to it. You'll get it right by experimenting with the mixtures and frying.
SERVING
We usually prepare the Eko first and keep it warm on the cooker or in the oven at very low temperature. We then fry the Akara and keep it warm in the oven too. The two dishes must be served together warm to relish the taste. ENJOY!
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