On this particular day, the kitchen meal on camp was Koko and kose. At first , everyone rushed in line to take the morning meal after the exhausting drills but after taking a bite from the dry kose from the kitchen, the rest of the batch was history as most people simply dumped theirs in the trash can and headed straight to the mami market for “professionally” prepared koko and kose (Ain’t nobody got time for badly prepared meal). On Camp, “Buka”/ “mama put” mentality reigns supreme there’s no doubt about that. When you’re being trained as semi soldiers, adapting to the environment is key to survival…lol!
Koko (Millet pap) and Kose(akara) is simply the hausa version of Akara and pap. Compared to Normal Akara, Hausa kose is so soft that it literally melts in the mouth. Koko on the other hand is simply Pap made from millet (joro specie) unlike the normal pap which is made from corn. It tastes very much like Kunu (A northern drink made from millet) so if you love drinking Kunu then you’d definitely love Koko too. Unlike kunu which is served cold, Koko is served hot with distinct particles of millet chaff within.
Step 1: Soak the beans in water for like 10 mins or less. if you soak the beans for a longer period the skin would stick to the body of the beans thereby making it very difficult to wash off.
Step 2: Peel the skin off the beans by rubbing them between your hands and rinsing to allow the skins to float to the top. (Another method of washing beans to make it easier is to put the unwashed beans in a blender, pulse for sometime to break the beans then sieve off the chaff with clean water).
Step 3: Sieve the skin out leaving the white peas behind making sure you drain thoroughly.
Step 4: In a food processor or Blender, blend the white part of the beans with tatashey (Red bell pepper), Chilli pepper(Shombo), onion, into a smooth paste.
Step 5: Put the mixture in a large bowl and add Salt, Crushed Seasoning, a little warm water to make it light and gradually stir with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth paste. Better still, pour the blended beans into a mortar and with a pestle stir thoroughly. This is one of the secrets to getting very soft akara balls.
Step 6: Pour the vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat up
Step 7: Spoon the mixture into the sizzling oil to form balls one spoon at a time and fry until golden brown making sure you flip frequently on each side.
Step 8: Remove balls and drain on absorbent kitchen paper and serve. Kose can be served with koko, yaji, stew, potatoes e.t.c
Step 2: Wash the millet thoroughly and blend with the ginger and cloves you get a smooth paste
Step 3: Using a pap sieve , filter the beans through the sieve (add water to make it easier) into a separate bowl. This separates the husk and other sediments from the liquid. Most times, some of the husk/chaff is allowed to filter through for koko.
Step 4: Let the slurry (liquid mixture) settle for few hours. This process separates the water from the sieved millet.
Step 5: Pour out the excess water and leave the millet to sit few more hours (This improves its appearance).
Step 6: To prepare, Bring water to the boil in a kettle. Add a little of the settled millet in a bowl with some water to make a thick slurry. Gently pour in the hot water quickly over the slurry making sure you stir thoroughly and quickly to avoid clumping. Add some sugar to taste and serve hot with kose (Akara)
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| Eating Kose & Koko mixed with powdered chocolate beverage…..Yum! |
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