Bambara/ Okpa Flour

Take a bushel of Bambara Bean harvested in Northeastern Nigeria, send it through a traditional stone-milling process, and what do you get? Fine Bambara nut flour!

 Bambara beans/nuts is not a nut but a legume. This crop is mostly grown by women on a small

Scale and traditionally milled into fine flour called Bambara flour. it is highly nutritious and used to make a steamed pudding meal locally known as ‘Okpa’ (usually cooked like moi-moi). Okpa is a full meal on its own and can be eaten with Pap (Akamu/Ogi/Koko/Tom Brown) or stew.  

Origin

Nigeria

How to cook Okpa (Steamed Bambara Bean/Nut Pudding

1.  Mix the flour with a little palm oil, rubbing it in until evenly smooth

2. Then, add warm-hot water, stir through till it gets dissolved. Sieve the mixture so there are no lumps.

3. Add salt, ground pepper/chilli powder and spices such as ground uziza .

4. Pour small quantities of the mixture into foil or plastic parcels/wraps, moimoi pouch.

5. Place sealed parcels/wraps in a pot containing boiling water, cover and cook until the okpa is firm.

6. Enjoy as a full meal with an accompaniment of choice.