Màmá Àshàké's Hot Àmàlà recipe

Àshàké's Kitchen —a typical bukka

Àshàké's Kitchen, although a major food establishment that offers outdoor and indoor catering services including food delivery packages, is like a grand scale local bukka.

Bukka is coined from the Romanian word "bucataria", which means kitchen. It is typically a small structure designed with sticks or poles and plain single roofs. It is a major feature of Nigeria's street food culture and can be seen at roadsides, street corners and construction sites in the country.

Ìkòkò irin ati Àdògán

What makes Àshàké's kitchen even more special for the àmàlà preparation is the use of local pots, made by local artisans, and firewood in the preparation of meals. Many indigenous persons prefer the taste of the food prepared with this cookware.

As a result, meal preparation at Àshàké's kitchen is also faster because of the way the firewood conducts heat to reach all sides of the pot at once.

It all begins with Èlùbó

The most common type of flour for àmàlà is the yam flour, which is also known as the àmàlà isu. Fresh tubers of yam are peeled, sliced and put into boiling water over a period of time, depending on how thick the yam slices are.

The yam slices are only partly cooked, then dried in a dryer. The dried yam slices are then milled directly into flour. Uneven particle sizes are sieved out of the flour, known as èlùbó in Yorùbá language, before it is processed into àmàlà.

Àmàlà preparation process

A kitchen porter in Àshàké's kitchen kneads the èlùbó with a turning stick known as omorogùn. As a way of keeping the pot firmly in position while kneading, he carefully uses his feet to hold the bottom of the pot in place.

A stiff, smooth dough

The most difficult stage in the àmàlà preparation process is the act of kneading the dough into a smooth paste. To prepare Àmàlà, pour water into a pot and place on a lit burner. Once the water has come to a boil, reduce the heat and add flour, stirring it energetically until the water is completely absorbed.

More hot water

Add more hot water, and leave the dough to simmer for 5 minutes. Knead the dough until it is free of lumps and amasses into one in the pot.

Ewédú blades

Kitchen porters gather around to pick ewédú leaves, separating leaf stalks and branches from the blade.

Only the leaf blades are used in the preparation of ewédú soup.

Thickness and stickiness

In Ashake's kitchen, ewédú leaves are mashed the traditional way, with the use of a cooking broom known as Ìjábè. The leaves are mashed with a cooking broom to increase the viscosity of the soup and for better consistency.

Preparation

The ewédú leaves are first boiled with a little potash to make them tender. Then, the leaves are mashed with a cooking broom for about five minutes or less. Other ingredients including ground crayfish, fermented locust beans (irú), maggi, salt and pepper are added to the soup as desired.

Draw soup, the ewédú way

Ewédú soup is one of those soups in Nigeria known as "draw soup" because it pulls and drags as a result of its viscosity, which makes it easy to swallow and fast to consume with solid meals like Àmàlà.

From cooking pot to dish-bowl

After preparation, Ewédú soup is transferred from the cooking pot into a dish-bowl.

The black sheep of the "swallow" family

Àmàlà is one version of solid meals or fufu which are popularly called "swallow" in Nigeria. The colloquial term originated as a result of the consumption process of the solid meals which need no chewing before swallowing.

Amala dunk in soup

Many home-grown Nigerians prefer to eat their àmàlà in a soup bowl like this, immersed in a combination of gbègìrì, ewédú soup and cow meat stew for a well-rounded savoury taste.