Afternoon cravings!!!

Hello steemians, it's another exciting day where we get to share the different kinds of drinks, deserts or snacks we love to accompanie us during the afternoon. As for me I like it simple and locally made, dive in with me and find out more about my favorite afternoon dessert.

What is the dessert, snack, or drink that usually accompanies your afternoons?

As we wake up everyday to work and carry-out our daily life processess, we usually have meals that we plan to eat for the day and there are some meals that we love to consume at a specific time and hour.

I would love to eat a hamburger someday because most of my friends have told me that it's one a kind, but I think that I will be the judge of that. What I like about this dessert is that it's really good, rich in protein for body building and not just that, the way it appears in an almost shiny reddish colour makes one want to eat it some much.

If you've been wonder what this meal is, I am now revealing that is called "Ọkpa". Yes it's what I consume during an afternoon that seems a little off, stressful or bit moody if you do experience the things I am saying I am sure that you will understand, and trust me the meal really brightens my day.

I don't prepare my afternoon dessert at home because of the steps and the ingredients involved in making them. I usually purchase it from a lady that sells them. It's not that expensive as it's just ₦500 which is amounted to "6 steem" for the kind of quality of it I eat.

Here are the last of ingredients/recipe required in the making of the Ọkpa.

As for me, I enjoy having my Okpa soft, well-seasoned, and juicy but not too runny or too greasy. For this reason, I use approximately 500 g of Okpa flour since it provides me with enough mixture without going to an excess in ingredients.

First of all, I take my Okpa flour and put it in a clean container. Then, I pour around 150-200 ml of palm oil there. As for me, it provides Okpa with its golden color and nice palm-oil flavor but does not make it too greasy since I do not like this. Next, I mix all components thoroughly.

Next, I add about 700-900 ml of hot water gradually. The thing is that I do not pour all the water immediately in order to control the consistency. As far as I am concerned, I do not need runny Okpa but just a smooth, thick one. If I use too much water, my Okpa will be too soft, and if there is not enough, it will become hard.

Once it has been mixed well, I include 2-3 fresh Scotch bonnet peppers, 1 medium sized onion, 3-4 spoons of ground crayfish, 2 cubes and some salt. I love crayfish in my Okpa and therefore I like adding a lot, but not too much to cover the natural taste of Bambara nut. I can add some uziza or scent leaf and even a bit of smoked fish powder to add some more flavour to my Okpa.

I mix everything well and taste it. If the seasonings are not sufficient, I add some more. I like having a nicely seasoned and slightly hot Okpa as opposed to something not flavorful. However, I do not want it to be very hot to the point where I am not able to taste anything else.

Now it is time to prepare my wrapper. I like to use plantain or banana leaves whenever possible to make my Okpa more traditional. I clean my leaves well and heat them for some time until they soften.

I put just enough of the mixture into each wrapper as possible since the Okpa must have sufficient space to cook properly. I fold the wrapper properly to ensure that it is well-tightened before placing it in the pot for cooking.

The Okpa wrapper is then put in a big pot, enough water added for cooking, and the pot covered properly allowing it to cook for 45 – 70 minutes. Cooking it slowly is better than quickly so that the inside part is well-firmed while remaining soft and moist.

Once it is done cooking, I remove the wrapper and let it cool a bit. The Okpa should be firm enough without being hard; moist without being wet; tasty without being too oily; and well-spiced without being overly spicy.

In the end, I unwrap the Okpa and offer it while it is still warm. In my opinion, this is when it tastes best as I can enjoy all the flavours, from the Bambara nut to the palm oil, crayfish, pepper, and others.

Origination of the meal (Ọkpa)

It is significant to note that while Bambara groundnut is a native of West Africa, there is no definite historical period when Okpa as a steamed dessert was first created according to my mother and trusted sources.

Okpa is traditionally linked to the Igbo tribe which I am from (Imo state Nigeria) in the southeastern part of Nigeria, and most especially in Enugu State and Nsukka region(The Consumers of the highest amount ofỌkpa). The historical studies as well as the food studies are in evidence that Bambara groundnut is grown in Nsukka, Benue and it is used in preparing Ọkpa by the Igbo.

There are also some records of origin from the communities of Enugu as well as origins from communities in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. It would, therefore, be hasty to assert that historians have clearly identified any one community as the inventor of Okpa. But it's a favorite of the Nsukka people of Enugu state Nigeria.

I would like to invite

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Cc; @lirvic, @dasudi, @crismenia & @nancy0

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@pandora2010
@mainuna
@solperez
@anthony002

Thanks for reading this post!!!