Safiya’s Family Table@safiya_kitchen

Breakfast

Abari (Steamed Corn Pudding)

Name: Abari (Steamed Corn Pudding)
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 600 g fresh maize kernels (Weight after removing the cobs; firm field maize if available.); 100 g onion (Roughly chopped.); 75 g red sweet pepper (Deseeded and chopped.); 0.5 whole Scotch bonnet or habanero (Optional, or to taste.); 150 ml water (For blending; up to 50 ml extra only if necessary.); 45 ml red palm oil (Gently warmed until liquid, not bleached; plus 5 ml for moulds.); 100 g hot-smoked mackerel flesh (Carefully deboned and flaked.); 10 g ground dried crayfish; 0.75 tsp salt

A savoury maize pudding with peppers, onion and smoked fish, steamed in individual moulds. Abari uses the steaming logic familiar from moi moi with maize as its principal ingredient. Yoruba recipe accounts also call it sapala. Ounje Aladun documents a fresh-corn version with smoked mackerel and ground prawns, while other versions use palm oil or leaves. It illustrates how the same wrapping and steaming skills travel between different staple ingredients. Cultural context: This entry represents a Yoruba abari/sapala preparation. Related corn puddings have other names and regional variations, which are not treated as interchangeable without qualification.

Abari corn pudding broken open in a bowl

Abari;Corn_Moin_Moin.jpg by Taoheedah, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

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25 minPreparation

50 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 10 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 85 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

600 g fresh maize kernelsWeight after removing the cobs; firm field maize if available.
100 g onionRoughly chopped.
75 g red sweet pepperDeseeded and chopped.
0.5 whole Scotch bonnet or habaneroOptional, or to taste.
150 ml waterFor blending; up to 50 ml extra only if necessary.
45 ml red palm oilGently warmed until liquid, not bleached; plus 5 ml for moulds.
100 g hot-smoked mackerel fleshCarefully deboned and flaked.
10 g ground dried crayfish
0.75 tsp salt

Let’s get cooking

1
Grease six 250 ml heatproof ramekins with the extra oil. Set a rack in a covered steamer and bring water below the rack to a boil.
2
Blend the maize, onion, sweet pepper and optional chilli with 150 ml water to a thick batter. Scrape down between pulses; add up to 50 ml extra water only if the blender needs it.
3
Mix in the palm oil, mackerel, crayfish and salt. Spoon into ramekins, leaving about one-quarter of their capacity empty, and cover each loosely with foil.
4
Steam over steadily simmering water for 45–55 minutes. Top up the steamer with boiling water when necessary. The centres should be set, a skewer should show no wet batter, and the fish-containing pudding should reach 74°C.
5
Rest for 10 minutes before unmoulding or serving in the bowls.

A little kitchen wisdom

Sweetcorn gives a sweeter, softer result than mature field maize; note the variation when using it. Clean cooking leaves are traditional wrappers. Ramekins make the portion size and steaming method easier to reproduce without ordinary plastic bags. Timing: active preparation 25 min; cooking 50 min; additional passive time 10 min; conservative planning allowance 85 min. Some stages may overlap. For Recipe.ng display, prep_minutes includes the additional passive time; it is not all hands-on work. Recipe status: Research draft; not kitchen-tested. Allergens and checks: Fish (mackerel).; Crustaceans (crayfish).

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Sapala, Corn moi moi, Corn moinmoin

This entry represents a Yoruba abari/sapala preparation. Related corn puddings have other names and regional variations, which are not treated as interchangeable without qualification.

Allergens: Fish (mackerel)., Crustaceans (crayfish).

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Safiya’s Family Table@safiya_kitchen

Breakfast

Abari (Steamed Corn Pudding)

Abari;Corn_Moin_Moin.jpg by Taoheedah, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Image details

None by this package; original downloaded file bytes preserved. Source-file adaptations, if any, are credited separately.

Full source and image record

25 minPreparation

50 minCooking

6Servings

Allow 10 additional minutes for resting / soaking. Total: 85 minutes.

What you’ll need

6 servings

600 g fresh maize kernelsWeight after removing the cobs; firm field maize if available.
100 g onionRoughly chopped.
75 g red sweet pepperDeseeded and chopped.
0.5 whole Scotch bonnet or habaneroOptional, or to taste.
150 ml waterFor blending; up to 50 ml extra only if necessary.
45 ml red palm oilGently warmed until liquid, not bleached; plus 5 ml for moulds.
100 g hot-smoked mackerel fleshCarefully deboned and flaked.
10 g ground dried crayfish
0.75 tsp salt

Let’s get cooking

1
Grease six 250 ml heatproof ramekins with the extra oil. Set a rack in a covered steamer and bring water below the rack to a boil.
2
Blend the maize, onion, sweet pepper and optional chilli with 150 ml water to a thick batter. Scrape down between pulses; add up to 50 ml extra water only if the blender needs it.
3
Mix in the palm oil, mackerel, crayfish and salt. Spoon into ramekins, leaving about one-quarter of their capacity empty, and cover each loosely with foil.
4
Steam over steadily simmering water for 45–55 minutes. Top up the steamer with boiling water when necessary. The centres should be set, a skewer should show no wet batter, and the fish-containing pudding should reach 74°C.
5
Rest for 10 minutes before unmoulding or serving in the bowls.

A little kitchen wisdom

Recipe notes & sources

Research draft; not kitchen-tested

Also known as: Sapala, Corn moi moi, Corn moinmoin

This entry represents a Yoruba abari/sapala preparation. Related corn puddings have other names and regional variations, which are not treated as interchangeable without qualification.

Allergens: Fish (mackerel)., Crustaceans (crayfish).