1 1/2 cup corn/maize meal
1/2 cup soy flour
1 1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 sugar to taste
1 cup water
1 oil
1 salt and pepper
Directions
Corn/maize was introduced to Africa from Latin America by the
Portuguese, mainly to provision their slave ships. The grain was
quickly accepted because it grew rapidly and undemanding in
cultivation. The name 'maize' comes from 'mahiz', the word used by
the Caribbean Taino Indians from whom the Europeans probably first
learned about the crop. in North American the English settlers were
shown it by local Indians. 'Corn' was a general name given to any
grain, so they called it simply 'Indian corn'.
Columbus noted that maize was "most tasty boiled, roasted or ground
into flour". And in southern Ghana today a common food is 'kenkey',
fermented corn/maize flour balls, wrapped in corn/maize leaves and
steamed. Akpith, this recipe, is more straightforward.
DIRECTIONS: =========== In a large saucepan, boil the water and then
in half of the corn/maize meal and all the soy flour to make a thick
porridge. Add the baking powder, chili powder if using and sugar;
season.
Cook this for 10 minutes over a low heat, stirring constantly. Then
remove the pan and set aside to cool for 10 minutes or so.
At this point, mix in the remaining corn/maize meal and combine
thoroughly, adding water to produce a stiff dough.
Now pour enough oil into a pan or wok to give a depth of around 2
inches (5 cms), and heat up. While it is warming mould the dough
into balls about 1 inch (2.5 cms) in diameter.
With the oil sizzling hot, slide 4 or 5 balls carefully into the pan
and cook for 2-3 minutes until they are golden brown.
* Source: The World in Your Kitchen - by Troth Wells * Typed for you
by Karen Mintzias
Servings: 6 servings
Akpith (Corn/Maize & Bean Flour Snack) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Appetizer; Bean
The History of Recipes
Historians have proved the existance of recipes way back into the far past, in fact as far as the Egyptians, and maybe even further. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these ancient cook books were just basic pictorial recipes for preparing meals.
Interestingly, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to food historians is a collection of tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel `blissful`. During Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius assembled a collection of scripts showing how to cook the recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. He recounts how the meals were split into hors d`oeuvres, main course and dessert, something we still use today. Aspicius also recounts how the chefs of Roman times used many herbs and spices, including some that we all recognise for example basil, mint and dill. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we have a couple of books from the 1300s - a cookery book entitled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Although the titles sound familiar, these books are not about the indian food that is familiar to us all today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals enjoyed by the upper classes of that period. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought back many new foods, spices and herbs from middle-east cuisine, including spices such as coriander, parsley, and rosemary. The introduction of these new herbs and spices caused an increase in recipe manuscripts, most of which still exist in private collections. During the succeeding few hundred years, the upper-class families of Wesstern Europe strove to lay on the best banquets, and because of this chefs and their recipes were at a premium. Even so, it wasn`t until the nineteenth century that fine cookery and recipe books really came of age. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and Fannie Merritt Farmer in the US, devoted their lives to collating, verifying, and recording the recipes of their peers. By the arrival of the 1900s, cooking books are starting to become popular due to higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and having more money to spend. |
We hope you enjoy this Akpith (Corn_Maize & Bean Flour Snack) recipe.
