| Millet soaked in water for eight hours about to be taken to the mill for processing. |
How To make Nigerian corn starch pap also known as akamu, ogi, pap from scratch is very easy.
The procedure for making pap is the same whether you use maize, millet, guinea corn or any grain. It is just having to soak the grain in water for one day or two days for maize to ferment and soften a bit.
Milling and filtering out the starch with a cheesecloth while the chaff is set aside and used for other purposes like feed for animals.
The end product will have different colours depending on the grain used
but the method for making pap is the same for all grains.
In May 6, 2013, I published a request here on a blog. A reader wanted to know how to make corn starch (akamu) from scratch.
You lovely ladies helped out with the procedure but there were no pics added. Then, I had no baby and depended on my akamu customer for raw starch. whenever we wanted to serve pap on a lazy Saturday morning with some delicious home-made akara she was right there.
HOW ALL MY BABIES WERE FED WITH NIGERIAN PAP
Over one year has passed and now, here are the pics poster. Now you can make your pap at home from scratch. For other new moms who cannot trust anyone to process their babies’ cornmeal. If these pics are not clear enough and you still have questions, feel free to ask, other moms here and we will try our best with answers.
My babies were are all fed with Nigerian pap. I never buy for babies, process myself and store in the cold fridge. The girls all enjoyed their pap with my simple soyabean powder which I also make myself (I have the pics waiting to be posted).
The process of making soya bean for babies is a bit complex for me cos of time so I always just roast and grind the soya beans .
Without adding other ingredients and it worked for me however, their brother took that for a few weeks and started turning his head when he sees the spoon approaching so I tried adding SMA and that worked perfectly. He now takes ogi with SMA and he is fine.
WHY I USED MILLET THIS TIME
To make the Nigerian pap (akamu) I like to use yellow maize because of the bright colour but decided to try millet this time around and it’s great. For maize, it is soaked for one or two days before milling, depending on how fermented I want my pap.
Millet doesn’t need to
stay that long in water. This was soaked for eight hours only.
EASY STEPS
- Soak grains
- Mill soaked grains.
- Wash with cheesecloth or very fine sieve
- Leave to settle
- Drain water and find the Raw pap settled at the bottom.
- Remove excess water and save Nigerian Raw pap in the Fridge.
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| The milled pap is scooped into a chiffon-like cloth material (sold by the maize sellers at the market). It is then tied around the palm of your left hand, then around the cloth itself, and dipped inside a bucket or basin of water.
While it’s in there, your right-hand does the squeezing until the pap all washes into the bowl of water leaving the chaff trapped in the cloth. Another way of washing the milled grains is to tie the cloth around the bucket (by turning the bucket upside down and knotting at the bottom before turning it upright again). Then the milled content is t scooped into the cloth around the bucket. Water is gradually being added with the left hand, the right-hand does the rubbing until the chaff is clean of starch. The washed powder in the bucket is left to settle before the water is drained. Forget my red nail dear I can hide them if I choose to but just enjoy showing them off to you as in. One thing you didn’t know about me is that Eya is a nail polish freak, sorry. SEE PICTURES BELOW FOR HOW TO MAKE NIGERIAN PAP, OGI AKAMU FROM SCRATCH
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Millet chaff from the washed akamu, ogi, pap or whatever name we call it |
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| Washed Nigerian pap, left to settle before draining. This will be left overnight and by morning, the pap would have settled on the bottom of the bucket. |
This is settled pap being processed into a simple kunu drink. This pic is not needed here, it will appear again when I publish the kunu post. I brought it to let us see the settled pap. This here is my simple kunu drink being made after taking out the pap for my baby For family Nigerian pap, making I love to add ginger. From here to when you serve akamu for food, the step by step pics are here akara and akamu post
CHECK OUT: |
Thank you
Thank you Aunty Eya.
Am so doing this..no need for the cerelac I was planning to buy earlier cos he will soon be 6months and I was plannin on buying Cerelac but it seems this will do.
Nnenna
Thanks for this post.
Pls can a baby of 4mnths+ take akamu&which type of milk do u think is preferable?
Thank you moms.
Anon 10:17pm, your baby is supposed to be fed exclusively on breastmilk for at least six months before introduction of solids.
The reason I stopped exclusive breast feeding is because after 6 months, my first girl refused any other form of food. It was very difficult teaching her then to like food. Till date, she prefers fluids, likes to drink liquid foods, still hates swallow no matter the type of soup.
She'll rather fill her stomach with liquid than solid foods. I went through hell raising a baby that resisted anything food.
After that experience, I learnt they can take home-made pap as early as three months, that's what I've always done. Not advising you to give your baby cos all kids are not the same, I'm just sharing my experience. At three months, my boy was taking pap although the paediatrician told me it was quite early, she didn't insist that I stop, so we continued swallowing our pap. He started with soyabeans powder, now it's with infant formula still breast feeding too. I give pap only at night sha as top up to really fill him up so I can enjoy my sleep.
He now eats every food with us(without pepper)I scoop out his before adding my pepper sauce) although I chew for him, mashing cannott really soften like a mothers mouth:-)
Aunty enya plz am also hav d same problem ,my 15months old baby doesn't take food xcept fluid nd dis is really annoying•wheneva I try to force him to eat d whole people in my compound will no dat he is eatting•my fear is,is it not to early for him to start taking milo nd shud I replace it to a home made soya milk?since soya milk is good for them @least I can giv him up to 4 or 5x a day•plz I really nid ur help here cuz am a first time mum•
madam Eya pls let me ask u a simple question, do you have a house help? would you advise me to get one? I currently have a two month old baby and I have been taking care of him all alone. the only time I was helped was when my mother in law came to stay with us for the first one week of my delivery. after that no one to help me. this is my first child,is hard and stressful taking care of a baby,husband,all of house chores is on my head. hubby is against house help and my mother has advised against them too. the worst part is I myself I am not feeling well. I discovered a lump in my breast that has been paining like hell( pls has any mother here experienced this lump before during breastfeeding)? three doctors has told me three differs t stories on this I don't know who to believe or what to do. I have been taking ibruphen for the pains and is gradually relieving me. the lump is still there though.
Hi Anon 1:21PM, please ask your baby'a paediatrician,the Doctor should know better. You know all babies are not the same, what works for your baby might not work for mine so I have to be careful here.
My babies drank milo before one year three months which is your baby's present age, though too much milo can purge a baby.
They were all weaned at 10 months and late night milo drinking is what made the weaning bearable for us. So' I'd say my babies got introduced to milo beverage during weaning and that's at 10 months. Wao! I don't think I'm too hard on babies sha:)
@Anon 6:18PM if you work, that means your mat leave wd be over by next month so, I'd advise you to get help if you can. BUT, if you do not work, try to do some good time management and sort out the daily chores/ every other day chore/ weekly chore to save money on house help.
When you begin to have babies, if you are a perfectionist like yours truly, learn to start looking the other way dear, you really don't need to sweep everyday if it's just you, hubby and a two month old baby, you don't need to go on errands daily, it's all about proper time management.
All I just typed above considering you are a stay-home mom. However, if you work, the story is different cos stress from work will soon start.
To answer your question, NO, I don't have a live-in househelp but I do get daily help; If you can get house keepers who come to work daily and close in the evening, fine.
Hubby doesn't want househelp so don't try it pls but find a way to save yourself. Get somebody to come clean daily or how you want it, run errands, cook for you if you can stand other people cooking your meals at home,probably help with the baby too.
When a wife is stressed, she becomes an A bitter woman, no man can stand an angry wife o. You don't want hubby to start closing late cos a complaining wife is waiting at home. I think every mother needs some help cos stress ages women like jack. Managing hubby, the baby, job, kitchen, house, etc, by the time you are done managing everyone, there is no time left for YOU. I don't want to say how I strted even having my own bath in a hurry because there was no time for me, being the one delaying everyone and making us late for events because after serving the whole family, they get ready, sit in the living room and start saying how "Mommy is the one making us late everytime" Forgetting that Mommy used all her time on them and kept herself last. Forgetting that if mommy rushed to the bathroom from bed like everyone else, she'd be ready before anyone …Until I had to accept that I can't do all by myself, I accepted help and I am happier.
For your breast, did any of the Doctors advise you to go for a breast scan?
thank u madam Eya. I don't work ( I only have a diploma certificate) I used to work before marriage I left because the work is too hectic compared to its payment. I was planning to get back to school when I realize I was pregnant few months after my wedding. ( the thing now is how will I even have time for school now even if I get admission,all my time now is for husband and little baby plus how chores.) I will try and get 6 to 6 househelp( I pray I find one ,I hear they are so scarce in my state here in minna, Niger state. for now sha I am a full time stay- at -home mother. coming to my health none of the doctors asked to go for breast scan. I will do that soonest. thank you madam Eya.
Nice one mam Eya,to Ànony 6 :18,I hv been in ur situation but overcame it with one thing 'JOY', I'm a mother of three,as in eh,scattering age kids but don't hv a help cos hubby is agasint it but I plan every of my movement and when I'm doing it,I do it with joy cos that is the only way to make me happy and is working,it is even helping me in training my kids well,they know were every thing in the house are,when I remove their cloth they know were to keep it and were to bring a neat one as little as they are,do u know that any time hubby pulls his cloth and didn't put it in the laundary,my 2yrs old will say'daddy u are scattering our house is not good" is always hard but try it will work out fine okay,
Sweethat, I tink u r overwhelmed dts y u are seeing it as a dilema. Try doin d chores u can each day and tk dem ova to d next day. u cn do without help, hubby wil assist u in d litle way he can. Meanwhile, if u atend church or hv young skl gals, dem fit help u buy tins frm mkt, or jst help u wash cloth once in a while and go. House help no b am o. I'm in my 9th month of pregnancy, and one tin I no I aint doing is getting a house-help. Anyhow e be after I born, we go weather am togeda.
Aunt eya, u took d words off my mouth, dt ur red nails ehn, I greet u
Aunt Eya I like u very much. Can't just place my hands on it but u re so down to earth with no airs at all but yet I see u re quite com4table. E-hugs to u. I noticed u didn't grill on a grilling device . Can one grill with just fire? Is dat not cooking. I av one small oven dat can also grill but nepa neva let me use am once so I don't grill at all so can I use stove 4 my grilling?
Mom to Toju.
Thank you Mom Toju, you make my small head swelllll.
Yes you can grill on a stove using a grill pan or fry pan.
The lump could be plugged ducts. I experienced it during the first 3 months after birth. Take a warm shower and massage it when you do so to encourage milk flow there. It will be painful but if you do it diligently, it will go in a couple of days.
Aunty Eya, please at what point do i add ginger?
Good day Aunty Eya pls i'll like to know how long u fed ur baby with millet pap and if it really helped ur baby gain lots of weight + is there any problem with millet pap cos I read feeding on millet over a long period of time can cause goitre althought d grain itself is packed with nutrients.
Good day Aunty Eya, please my baby isn't gaining weight(am not lactating well) with guinea corn so I plan switching to millet and a little yellow corn cos I learnt that jero makes them add weight alongside its high nutritional value but on d other hand I learnt feeding too much millet causes goitre of which I plan carrying on from 4 months till 1+. I'll like to know if u feed ur baby for long with the millet pap n if it was really ok on ur babies or other babies fed same that u know of?
Pls how can I make ogi baba for my baby,is 4 months old baby too young to be fed with red millet
4 months isn't too small to be fed pap as some start earlier than that. U can mix d dawa with a little white corn or millet cos they are packed with nutrients good for children. To make it richer try adding soya beans n don't forget to add formula to it.
Please I want to know if white corn is ok for a baby under three months and also if nan is ok for such baby .
Yes. That's what I give my baby, white corn and nan.
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Please aunty Eya, can I give my 4month old pap that I added ginger. I do grind my pap with ginger but I haven't tried it on her.should I go ahead?
Please aunty Eya,can i feed my 4month old the already prepared pap with ginger.I put ginger in my pap too but I haven't tried giving it to my baby. Should I go ahead?
Good morning Amaka, ginger is hot even for some adults, please don't give to a baby. That 4 month old digestive system is still tender.
Can I give my 5month baby Guinea corn, Millet and yellow corn with soya beans pls
Pls can I give my 5months baby Guinea corn,Millet and yellow corn with soya beans pls Anty
Pls how do I make powdered fortified pap?
You are welcome.
Thanks Nnenna. At 6 months you can give him the cerelac, ogi and other foods served the family.
You are welcome.
Millet and goitre? How?
My baby is not gaining weight and she is six month now ,wat kind of food can I give her that will make her to be chubby
What do you feed her? What does she enjoy eating?