Recipe; Akple On The Menu

To prepare Akple you only need cassava dough and corn dough

• 1/2 cup of cassava dough
• 1 cup of corn dough

To make the corn dough, I put a cup of white Indian Head cornmeal in a blender to make it a little finer (optional).

Then mixed it in a bowl with a teaspoon of cornstarch (also optional) to make a slightly smoother dough, then mixed 1/2 cup of water into it.

• Mix together the 2 doughs in a saucepan with a half cup of water to get a smooth creamy mixture, and add a little salt (I used ~1/4 teaspoon). A nice heavy wooden spoon or stick works well.
• Put the mixture on the stove on a medium heat and stir it as it heats, adding another half cup of water all at once and continue stirring until it forms a solid mass (about 10-15 minutes). Do not allow the dough to become lumpy or scorch on the bottom. Turn it as you stir.
• When the mixture becomes fairly solid and no longer "wet" looking, take a calabash (or bowl), wet it thoroughly and put a spoonful of the dough into the calabash, shaking it vigorously and rolling the dough inside into a circle or oval shape.

Originally, akple was eaten mainly with fetri ma or fetri detsi, but now it goes well with other dishes, such as fried fish with pepper sauce or shito, or palaver sauce. As I said, I'm enjoying mine with garden egg stew.