How To Make White Amala – Lafun

how-to-make-white-amala-called-lafun-with-cassava-flour

Welcome to my Nigerian food blog !

In this blog post I will be writing about an easy Nigerian recipe which is how to make white amala which is also called lafun.

Amala is a popular food of Nigerian origin as it is mostly eaten by the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria.

You would notice that I wrote ‘white amala’ instead of just amala. This is because there is white amala and black amala.

Dried cassava for white amala — **Dried cassava used for white amala**

Difference between white and black amala

As stated earlier, we have white and black amala. Here is the difference between white and black amala.

As the description implies, white amala has a cream white colour after it has been cooked while black amala has a black or very dark brown colour after it has been prepared.

Elubo-amala — **Black Amala made with Unripe dried plantains**

Another difference between white and black amala relates to the ingredients used for their preparation. What is white amala made from? White amala is prepared with cassava flour while black amala is prepared with dried yam flour or dried unripe plantain flour.

The third difference is related to the name. The native name for white amala is amala lafun while the native name for black amala is elubo isu or elubo ogede depending on the ingredients used.

The great thing about lafun is that it can be enjoyed with a wide variety of Nigerian soups such as ewedu soup , efo riro , ogbono soup and many more other Nigerian soups.

Often times, amala lafun is usually mistaken for pupuru because of the similarity in the major ingredient used that is cassava.

Difference between Pupuru and Lafun

Although pupuru and lafun are both the by product of cassava they are still very different.

The difference between pupuru and lafun is the different production processes which the cassava undergo before it is turn to pupuru or to lafun.

Pupuru has a light smoky flavour because the processed cassava is dried over fire while the cassava processed for lafun is sun dried.

smoked-dried-pupuru — **Smoked Dried Pupuru**

Also, the cassava used for making pupuru has been processed in such a way that when cooked it is not as stretchy as lafun.

How to prepare white amala – lafun .

Blend dried cassava into flour

Add few tablespoons of cassava flour into a small bowl
Mix the cassava flour with water to achieve a watery consistency
Keep aside and place your pot on your cooker
Pour water into the pot and allow to boil
Turn off the heat when the water starts boiling
Slowly pour the cassava paste into the hot water while mixing it immediately
Start adding the cassava flour into the mixture after mixing the cassava paste into the hot water.
Mix immediately while adding the cassava flour.
Do this until until a thick consistency is achieved.

Lafun is ready to be enjoyed with your preferred soup.