Ekoki (Steamed Corn Pudding)

Ekoki is another dish that you can make from fresh corn. Sometimes you are looking for variety of things to do with corn particularly when you have bought some good quantity as you found them cheap.You have boiled or even roasted at home so what next.
I remember  my childhood with fund memories of eating hot Ekoki placed on enamel trays with all the children gathered round the trays and eating with our hands. For some reason my mum always served it for dinner. Well with the laborious way with which it was prepared there was no way it could have been ready for lunch. You had to separate the corn kernels one by one by hand from the cub, pound, then proceed to mix the other ingredients before wrapping.Hmm was this intentional to keep us the children busy?

I have found faster ways of doing this and still enjoy my Ekoki on rainy days. This is not to say it has to rain for you to eat this dish.
Freshly cut corn makes a whole lot of difference to this dish as the outcome is tastier. The sugar level in corn reduces the longer you keep it out after cutting from the farm.
When freshly cut corn is frozen immediately it retains this sweetness.
My twist to this dish is the addition of some vegetables, Ugu  making it even a more interesting and nutritious meal. Traditionally some people dont add ugu. Wrapping the Ekoki in cylinderical shapes makes it cook fast. But wrapping in the moi moi shape is also an option.

Nutri tip: Corn is always seen as a good source of carbohydrate only. Corn also has antioxidant benefits, preventing damage to body cells.Corn is a good source of vitamin C as well as the mineral manganese. For this corn dish, you will have the benefit of fibre also from the corn and the vegetable.

Recipe for Ekoki?

Ingredients
4 Corn cub (ground)
1 Mackerel Fish ( steamed and flaked)
1 cup Fresh Shrimp (Diced)
2 cooking spoons Tomato/ Pepper mixture(ground)
1 medium size onion( chopped)
Handful  Ugwu ( chopped)optional
1cooking spoon Palm oil
2 seasoning cubes
2 cooking spoons Water
Salt to taste
Banana leaves for wrapping.

Method
1, Peel corn, using knife slice off the kernel from cub and blend with little water. No need to make the paste too smooth.
2, Heat up oil, fry the onion, tomato/pepper,fish and shrimp.
3, Add seasoning and salt to taste
4, Add the ‘stew’ to the corn paste and mix well
5, Add the vegetable and mix
6, Add water and taste to further correct seasoning. Adjust water  depending on how mature the corn is.
7,Wrap mixture in banana leaves and steam , just like Moin Moin
8 , Serve hot with pepper sauce( optional)

Cooking tip: If using banana leaves it is advisable to dip it in hot water before use to make it easier to handle. You can also use Moin Moin leaves or foil paper to wrap.