Healthy meal - Bambara nut pudding (okpa) Recipe || by graciee20

Greetings beautiful Ladies. I trust your day is going on as planned and the weather, hope it's friendly in your location.
Welcome! So today in this post I'm gonna be showing you how I prepared my Bambara nut pudding (okpa).

Bambara nut pudding (okpa) is a very nutritious meal eaten basically by Igbos (the people of the Eastern part of Nigeria) and it is made from the seed of Bambara nut or Jugo beans as you wish to call it. In Nigeria, the Igbos call it Okpa, the Yorubas call it epa-roro and the Hausas call it gurjiya or kwaruru.

portion: for 6 persons

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

About Bambara nut

image source
Bambara nut belongs to the Fabaceae Family with the botanical name Vigna subterranea. It has a very hard seed pod which when ripe, can be broken and ground. Then can be eaten fresh or after drying and boiling just like the normal groundnut we eat. The seed can also be ground when fresh to make Bambara milk/juice and it can be ground when dry to make puddings (okpa) this which I'm going to be showing you in a jiffy.

Why I like Bambara nut pudding (okpa)

• One thing I like about this delicacy is that you don't need much ingredients or spicy to prepare it. You need just about a few.
• Another reason why I like the meal is that it's quick and easy to prepare. I don't like stress😁😋
• One more reason is it's great taste, especially when it's eaten hot.

Health benefits and Nutritional value of Bambara nut pudding (okpa)

• Bambara nut is Rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, fibre, fat and minerals such as calcium, iron, manganese, phosphorus, magnesium, etc.

• Malnutrition
It helps in the prevention of malnutrition and other health problems such as kwashiorkor, rickets, etc., because it has essential nutrients.
• Offers Protection against Anaemia
Bambara nut contains iron and other essential nutrients which boost the body’s blood level and aids in reducing the effects of various health conditions such as anemia.
• Prevents Bone Diseases
The minerals such as calcium contained in Bambara nuts protect the body from osteoporosis, arthritis, and other related bone diseases.
• Promotes Healthy Body Regulation/bowel movement, also helps with Irritable bowel syndrome & Diarrhea.
It is also recommended in the treatment of irregular menstrual cycle, dysmenorrhea, and polymenorrhea.
• Supplies the body with Energy
• Contains amino acid tryptophan which helps with insomnia
• Low bone mineral density

Ingredients

• 3 cups of Bambara nut flour
• Palm oil (1 and ½ cup)

• A handful of ground crayfish
• small stock cubes
• pepper
• salt (to taste)
• warm water
• wrappers ( you can use banana leaf or a tough transparent plastic bags that can withstand high heat.

Steps on how I prepared my Bambara nut pudding (okpa)

• I sifted the ground Bambara nut into a big bowl. I added salt, crayfish, stock cubes and palm oil,

then mixed it very well till the mixture became smooth.
• I poured some water in a pot and placed it on the cooker to get warm.
• Once the water was warm, I started adding the warm water into the mixture and I continued mixing whilst adding more warm water.

This is so the mixture won't have lumps.
• I rinsed the wrappers and started scooping the mixture into the wrappers,

I tied the wrappers very tight and put it into the already boiling water in the pot on fire.

• Once I was done wrapping and putting all in the pot, I covered the pot and allowed the okpa to cook for like 50minutes on a high heat.

Our delicious okpa meal is ready! I eat it hot with pap.

I know you want to have a taste, right?
Come over😁

How do you enjoy your okpa? Let's meet in the comment section.😋

Thank you for reading. You can go on and give this #recipe a try
Thank you @steemwomensclub, @svm038 and @ngoenyi