Most of us have a structured breakfast routine whether it is bread and eggs, cereals and milk oats and bananas, rice and sauce or something else. I rarely deviate from mine too, except when I have leftovers from the previous day.
Recently, a friend gifted me some tapioca, it had been years since I last had tapioca— not because I disliked the taste, but because it wasn’t just part of my regular meals.
Tapioca is a starch made from cassava plants. Although, it is originated from South America, it is very common in Africa. Tapioca can be used to thicken foods, though I have not tried using it for this purpose. Read more..
I will be sharing with you one of my recent favorite breakfasts: Tapioca. It is so easy to make and less-time consuming.
In my country, Tapioca is best eaten with coconut and evaporated milk. The coconut is usually sliced in a very thin pattern and mixed with the tapioca. Since I didn’t have coconut, I decided to use Akara (beans cake) instead.
INGREDIENTS USED
-Tapioca
-Sugar
-Milk
-Beans flour (or groundpeeled beans)
-A small quantity of pepper,onions and salt (for the Akara)
How to prepare tapioca.
STEP 1
Make the tapioca clean and ready to use.
Depending on the type of tapioca, it may not be entirely clean and might contain chaff or some tiny white stones. So, the first thing I do is remove any visible chaff and debris.
After that, I like to slightly rinse; that is, pouring water over it and draining.
STEP 2
Make the tapioca soft.
Raw tapioca is quite hard, so it needs to be soaked for hours, preferably at least 3 hours. The water level should also be at least twice the level of tapioca, as it will absorb a lot of water . You can also soak it overnight
You can check occasionally to add more
water to it, if needed.
STEP 3
Cook the tapioca.
Next, cook the soaked and softened tapioca.
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In a pot, add a little water. you can either add sugar to the water or add sugar later. When the water is quite hot, add the tapioca and allow it to cook until it gives a transparent look. And voila, it is done.
The amount of water you use to boil will determine whether your tapioca is watery or thick. I prefer a thick texture, so I use less water.
STEP 4
Serve the tapioca.
Put your cooked tapioca in a bowl, add your milk, sugar and coconut if available and give it a good mix. and finally, Enjoy!!
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How to make Akara (Bean cakes)
As I mentioned, this is a simple breakfast, so we are making our Akara in a simple way. Normally, making Akara takes a lot of stress, it involves peeling, washing, and grinding the beans.. but I used bean flour where all the hard work is already done.
STEP 1
Make the Mixture
In a bowl, add beans flour, water, pepper, onions, and a little salt, then mix. The consistency of the mixture should not be too watery but a little bit thick.
I used a cup, because I am making a small quantity and it didn’t want to waste the mixture in a large bowl.
STEP 2
Fry the mixture.
Heat some oil in a pan. Use a spoon, preferably a scoop spoon to drop portions of the mixture into the hot oil.
Fry until Golden brown, and the Akara is ready.
This is recipe is so easy to make, and it is also delicious. If you are having a stressful day, or too lazy to cook, this recipe will come in handy.
All images are mine. Thumbnail designed using canva.
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