What is pupuru?
Pupuru is a special native delicacy of the Ikale and Ilaje people of Ondo state hence the name pupuru Ikale. Sometimes, it is called Ikale fufu because after it cooked it has a resemblance with cooked fufu.
However, I should state that taste is the difference or better still the difference is in the taste and texture. Although, this traditional food is made from cassava but the unique production techniques makes the finished product light and easily digested unlike fufu.
Some of the traditional Ikale soups enjoyed with pupuru are;
Cassava
Cassava is a tuber crop which is some times called a root vegetable. In harvest period, the stem and root of cassava plant is cut off while the cassava tuber is uprooted from the ground.
It is a staple food crop that is used in a wide variety of African delicacies. In Nigeria, every part of the cassava plant is useful.
The leaves are used to prepare different soup delicacies such as Obe Gbanunu.
The stems are used for cooking fuel or simply reused for planting cassava by sticking them into the ground when the soil is wet, preferably in raining season.
Below are some of Nigerian foods and recipes which are made from cassava tuber;
- Garri – used for making eba
- Lafun – also called white Amala
- Pupuru– Ikale food
- Fufu – akpu or loiloi
- Abacha – steamed cassava slices
- Tapioca recipe.
- Starch
- and many more.
All the above mentioned foods have different processing techniques, processing times and unique tastes and flavours.
How to make pupuru flour for cooking
In the past, the finished product of pupuru used to be brown balls of dried pupuru. But the cooking process was very stressful because of the labour intensive steps required to get pupuru flour which would be cooked.
To cook with dried pupuru balls you will have to do the following
- Scrape off all the brown part of the pupuru ball
- Break up the ball into small pieces
- Pound the small pieces to a smooth flour-like pupuru
- And sieve the pounded flour to separate the pupuru flour from the chaff
Only after the above stated steps have been done can you be able to make cook pupuru. This is the reason why many people were of the opinion that making pupuru was too stressful.
In recent times pupuru processing have been fine tuned to make cooking easy for end product consumer. Nowadays, you do not have to worry about the four compulsory steps necessary before cooking with pupuru balls because pupuru is now directly available in flour form. For this recipe, I will be using pupuru flour.
How to cook pupuru
In this blog post I will be sharing with you two (2) ways to cook pupuru and here are the ingredients and utensils you need;
- Pupuru flour
- water
- pot
- moi moi leaves for wrapping
- omorogun – yoruba word for wooden spatula also locally called turning stick
Method 1
- Clean moi moi leaves with salty water to remove dirt or impurities
- Boil water in a kettle
- Pour boiled hot water in to a clean bowl
- Ensure the bowl is only half filled water hot water in order to have enough space for mixing
- Add pupuru flour to the hot water in small quantities while mixing with omorogun at the same time to avoid lumps
- Stop adding pupuru flour when you achieve your desired thickness
- Continue to mix well in order to get a smooth, fluffy and well combined texture
- Gently remove the hard part in the middle of the moi moi leaf for flexibility
- Scoop the pupuru in to moi moi leaves
- Neatly wrap the leaves to make pupuru presentable.
This method is very fast, easy and great for people who do not want to activate the starch content of the pupuru.
Method 2
- Fill a clean pot with 2 cups of clean water
- Put the pot of water on the cooker on high heat and allow it boil
- Turn the heat down to low heat when the water starts boiling
- Add pupuru flour into the boiling water in little quantities while mixing with the turning stick to avoid having lumps
- Add pupuru flour until desired thickness is achieved
- Remove the pot from the cooker and place on a flat surface
- Hold the pot with one hand while mixing the pupuru properly for about 3-7minutes – this is necessary to activate the starch and achieve a stretchy, fluffy and smooth pupuru.
- Gently remove the hard part in the middle of the moi moi leaf for flexibility
- Scoop the pupuru in to moi moi leaves
- Neatly wrap the leaves to make pupuru presentable.
This is method is more widely used as it is the traditional way of making pupuru. Although it takes more time than the first method, pupuru made with this method usually has a smooth and fluffy texture. Also, the starch content is well activated with this method which results in a stretchy pupuru.
You can also watch the video recipe here on my YouTube channel.
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