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
It is actually possible to trace the history of written cooking instructions far back into the distant past, certainly as far as the ancient Egyptians, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that maybe, mostly, these early recipes were just very basic hieroglyphic instructions for preparing food.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe discovered, according to experts in ancient history are some tablets in Sumerian describing the baking of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who tried it feel blissful and exhilarated. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years there were some interesting books from the 14th Century ; a book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. The titles are somewhat misleading tho`, these are unconnected to the indian food that appears on menues today, but rather descriptions of the types of food prepared by the cooks of the rich people of the period. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought us a variety of foods, spices and herbs from the holy lands, including rosemary and coriander. These new foods and tastes prompted an eruption in recipe publications, some of which still exist in academic collections. Over the following few hundred years, the rich and powerful families of Wesstern Europe strove to offer the best banquets, and consequentially the best cooks and their recipe collections increased in prestige. However, it wasn`t until the 19th century that haute cuisine and recipe publications really came of age. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally well-known Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down recipes common in their social group. By the arrival of the 20th century, cookery books were greatly in demand due to better eduction, people having more leisure time and a general increase in wealth. Like it or not, the introduction of television brings us TV chefs and the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of computers and the internet, permitting everyone to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on our site. |
We hope you enjoy this Akpith (Corn_Maize & Bean Flour Snack) recipe.
