This is a recipe on how to make amala but this time this recipe will contain three(3) different ways of making amala with different ingredients.

Amala is Yoruba traditional food. When prepared properly, it is light, fluffy and easily digestible. The signature combination of this swallow food is amala, gbegiri and ewedu.

Today I share with you step-by-step tutorials on the different methods and ingredients for cooking amala.

Without wasting time, let’s proceed with the first method.

Perfect way to make amala with wheat flour.

Ingredients

• Wheat grains – 2 cups
• Yam flour – 2 cups

Yam flour used for this recipe is called elubo isu gbodo and it is made by blending well dried yam tubers to flour.

Then the yam flour is sieved for smoothness so that it is without lumps when cooked.

Here are the steps to follow;

• Grind dry wheat grains to powder
• Sieve it for smoothness
• Mix yam flour with the wheat flour
• Put a small portion in a bowl and add water to a smooth paste
• Boil water
• Turn down the heat of the boiling water
• Pour the elubo and wheat paste into the hot water
• Mix well with omorogun – wooden spatula
• Continue mixing for about 2 mins while cooking on low heat
• Add more flour and continue mixing until it thickens
• Clean up the spatula and the sides of the pot
• Pour 1/4 cup water in the sides
• Cook on medium heat for 2-3 mins
• Use the omorogun to mix well again till it becomes nice and fluffy.
• Serve hot or warm with any soup of choice.

This method of preparation produces an outcome that is thicker and it is great for people who like amala but prefer it to be thicker and sturdier.

Highlighted above is a free video of this method.

Cheap way to make amala with sorghum pap

This second method utilises a unique ingredient called ‘ogi baba’. It is known as a cheap method because the Ogi baba is cheaper than yam flour.

Using ogi baba as a base and a thickener would mean that less yam flour is needed.

Ogi baba is also a Yoruba food made by fermenting red sorghum.

The production process for sorghum pap is time consuming just like corn pap but for this recipe the final product is what’s needed.

This second method is rare but delightful. In Yoruba, this cooking process is called ‘an kpapete amala’

The ingredients needed are;

1. Yam flour – 2 cups
2. Sorghum pap – 1 cup

In Yoruba language, sorghum is called oka baba while sorghum pap is known as ‘ogi baba’.

The cooking process is quite simple and straightforward, so let’s get started.

• Mix oka baba with water until it is smooth and becomes a paste.
• Boil some water
• Turn down the cooking heat.
• Pour the pap paste into the hot water and mix immediately
• Continue mixing while it cooks on low heat
• Do this until the pap thickens
• Then go ahead and add yam flour
• As usual, continue mixing with omorogun while adding the elubo isu
• Mix well until the swallow thickens
• Clean up the omorogun and the sides of the pot
• Add 1/2 cup water
• Cook for for 2-5 mins on medium heat
• Now mix well
• Once again swallow is ready

The colour of this amala is reddish because of the sorghum added.

Nevertheless, this method of preparing amala is a must try.

In addition, a tutorial video is available for you below.

The third method uses a peculiar type of elubo called kunube.

How to make amala

There is a special type of elubo used to make amala apart from using elubo isu – that is yam flour.

Kunube is made with dried water yam slices and also yam peels.

It is an affordable replacement for the pricey elubo isu gbodo which is made with real yam.

The difference between cooking with elubo kunube is that it requires a lot of flour for tangible result.

While elubo isu gbodo costs more because it requires less to cook a lot.

In other words, with elubo isu gbodo – less is more. But with Elubo kunube – more and more is needed.

Most times, kunube and Isu gbodo are blended together for more volume and to reduce cost.

But for this recipe, only kunube would be grinded to flour and sieved for smoothness.

The step-by-step cooking process is as follows.

• Boil water
• Turn off the cooking heat after the water is properly boiled
• Pour the elubo into the water and mix immediately
• Add more elubo and continue mixing until it is very thick
• Add little water to the sides and the middle of the swallow
• Then cook for up to 5 minutes on low heat
• After the second cooking, mix very well.
• Amala is ready to be enjoyed with any preferred soup.

Many people say this is the best way to make amala.

The process stated for above is for people who are pros at making swallow.

For a beginners, to get a smooth amala I would suggest that you adopt the first 4-5 steps in the first two (2) recipes.

Do this till you gain mastery of the process then you can adopt the pro method.

In summary the essence of this post is to show you that there are many more ways to prepare amala.

Firstly, amala prepared with wheat flour is thicker and sturdier. Great for people who love to eat amala that is more filling and satisfying.

Secondly, amala prepared with ogi baba – sorghum pap- is an affordable option that uses pap as thickener so that less yam flour would be used.

Lastly, the third recipe is for people who love very soft amala but don’t want to invest in buying pricey elubo isu gbodo.

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