Amala The Best Food Ever

Amala can be a topic of hot debate in the Nigerian social space. Regarded as an acquired taste, it’s processed by slightly cooking the yam to remove toxins and drying the yam to remove all moisture. Traditionally, the yam peels (sometimes along with the barks) are sun-dried for two to six days. Once completely dried, the peels are milled into a powder known as elubo. These days, some producers use dehydrators to speed up the process.

To make amala, the elubo flour is mixed with boiling water and stirred heavily until it rises and develops a smooth consistency. It’s popularly enjoyed with ewedu soup and gbegiri.

You’ll find amala all over Nigeria, but its home is considered to be in Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria.

The interesting thing about amala (and the flour it’s made with) is how it possibly evolved as a means of preservation before the age of technology. With this method, yams were protected from moisture and rot and could be enjoyed until the next harvest.

Step by Step How You Can Cook Amala

Amala and Ewedu soup will always stay one of the most popular Nigerian soups, not only among the Yoruba people. A combination of Ewedu leaves and Amala gives a unique taste to this dish. 

Ensure you eat some when you visit Africa. Ewedu is a traditional soup native to the Yoruba part of Nigeria it is often served with Amala or any other traditional swallow food like Eba, Pounded yam or fufu. It is very delicious and nutritious and it has a slimy effect when it’s cooked which is very similar to Okra. 

Making Ewedu soup is easy. It will totally take you 30 minutes to cook it (15 minutes for preparation process and 15 minutes for cooking itself.

How to cook Ewedu Soup

• Pick your Ewedu leaves, make sure you don’t pick the stalk/stem along with it.

• Wash the leaves thoroughly to rid it of dirt. Pour the water into a medium size pan, place on a bob on medium heat, bring to a rolling boil.

• If you’re using a broom (Ijabe), use the broom to pound the leaves.

• If you’re using a blender, take the Ewedu off the heat and leave to cool for a bit…don’t switch the heat off.

• Add the Ewedu into a blender along with the Iru, make sure you don’t add all the water, just 1/2 a cup should do. Too much water will affect the viscosity of your Ewedu.

• Using the pulse function, pulse a few times till you get a semi-purée consistency.

• Transfer the Ewedu back into the pan, add the ground crayfish, bouillon cube and salt to taste.

• Switch off the heat and let it simmer with the residual heat for 3 minutes….stir occasionally to prevent burning. Do not over cook or the Ewedu will go brown.

How to cook Amala

• Pour water in a pot and allow to get hot.

• Add the yam flour into it and stir continuously using a wooden stick to avoid lumps.

• Add extra yam flour if watery or add some water if it’s too strong (just like the way your make your semovita).

• Turn the yam flour very well, then add a bit of water, cover and allow to cook for about 10 mins.

• Wrap it up in nylon.