It’s uncharacteristically cold here, in Los Angeles, these days. I’m not all that ready for the chill of winter. I don’t think I will ever be ready. I will be spending a lot of days indoors, so my sister-in-law is whipping up some akamu (from scratch) also known as pap or ogi and I am going to watch her do it. She tells me she got this… who am I to disagree? It will take a couple of days for it to come together though, but it worth it. She wants to make it with both fresh and dry corn. It takes better with fresh corn, she says. To be honest, I have never tasted pap with fresh corn – stay tuned. Akamu is a breakfast porridge that is very common in most African countries. What name you call these creamy, corn porridge, depends on what part of Africa you live in. In Nigeria and Cameroon; it is named pap, Akamu, or Ogi. In South Africa, and Ghana it is disguised as porridge, Millie pap or koko. In this recipe, corn is left to soak for a couple of days till tender, then it is finely ground in a food processor, passed through a sieve and left outside to ferment and voila –Akamu. So after trying both fresh and dry corn, I would say fresh corn tastes really good however, it does not yield enough pap to feed everyone (We used Fresh American Corn which is very different from African fresh corn -10 ears of corn only yield about 1 -2 cups of pap and labor-intensive – am out! Unless she makes it. Enjoy this corn porridge with puff-puff, akara, bread, or perfect on its own. [adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”9U8DE6N5″ upload-date=”2020-07-27T02:59:32.000Z” name=”Homemade Akamu (Pap, Ogi, Corn Porridge)” description=”Homemade Akamu (Pap, Ogi, Corn Porridge) – thick, creamy, and silky smooth breakfast porridge made from fresh corn. A healthier alternative to your usual oatmeal. Best served as it is or with any doughy sides.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]
Place dry peeled corn in a bowl, cracked corn is preferable- will take a shorter time to become tender. Soak corn in lots of water , for about 4-5 days until tender-(depending on the corn used ) . This corn only took 3 days before it was ready to go. Blend corn in a heavy duty blender into a fine smooth consistency. Like this ! Sieve corn to remove any corn chaff usually peeled corn has very little . Let it sit outside for about 3 days . This is to help the corn achieve the distinctive sour taste associated with pap. (It is ok to have bubbles on top) Be sure to drain the water daily – the smell is not too pleasant. After draining the water you will have a very thick akamu mixture. At this point the pap is ready to be cooked. However, you may further drain the akamu using a cheese cloth or muslin bag. Tie in a tight bundle and let it sit until all the water runs out . It will come together and firm up. Cut it up. Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge . When ready to use place akamu in water and simmer for about 3-5 minutes , until it thickens up. Adjust for thickness with water . Add sugar and or milk . Serve warm .
