How to make Alapa (Beans & Egusi)

Our ancestors were clearly feeling adventurous when they decided to make this Alapa dish. If I could be a fly on the wall back in the day when people were creating these recipes, it would provide so much insight.

Alapa is a steamed pudding similar to Moin Moin that combines Beans and Egusi (Melon seeds). It is typically eaten with Eko (which is a steamed corn pudding.) To be honest, I am not sure why they eat both in pudding form but taste wise, I guess the eko because it is slightly sour, it cuts through the nutty flavour of the Alapa.

I can see people eating this with a lovely pepper sauce that has a lot of onions or maybe they could eat it with custard or pap which would have the same tart that Eko has.

RECIPE FOR ALAPA

Ingredients

3/4 cup of Brown Beans

3/4 cup of Roasted Egusi (Melon seeds)

1 Cup of Water

3/4 bulb of Onions

1 Tatashe (Paprika)

4 Scotch Bonnet Pepper

2 Tablespoons of Crayfish Powder

1-2 Seasoning Cubes

Salt to Taste

Method

In a bowl of water, soak your beans for 30 minutes to an hour.

Wash your beans to peel off the skin and set aside.

In a pan, lightly toast your egusi seeds till it starts to brown a little.

Pour your Beans, Egusi, Onions, Tatashe, Scotch bonnet pepper, Crayfish powder, Seasoning cubes, Salt and Water into a blender and blend till smooth.

In a greased aluminium cup, pour in your mix and steam on medium heat for 40 minutes.

You may use banana leaves if you like the flavour of the leaves and steam as well for 40 minutes.

Serve hot.

I garnished mine with a Garri Tulle but feel free to skip that bit as this was me being playful with my food.

Powder Version

I used the powder version of both beans and Egusi but ensured i toasted the Egusi powder in a pan. Same measurements as above for the other ingredients and it worked out as well so if you are looking for a shortcut you can try this as well.