Ebira APAPA cuisines are traditional and modern food prepared by Ebira people, it is base on the availability of raw food materials they can farm or provide from other places, in most time Ebira people depends purely on the farm product that they have cultivated, to be used for food preparations.
Ebira people have a meal that is common to most Tao communities called (Apapa).

How is Apapa Prepared?

Apapa is a traditional Ebira food made with steamed ground beans and enriched with spices. It is very common to see Apapa (Ebira Moin Moin) served at parties, wedding ceremonies and other festive occasions.  Apapa is usually eaten alone as a meal , but most times it is served with other Ebira foods such as  Fried rice, Boiled white rice and stew, Jollof Rice even abacha an a lot more. I personally enjoy mine with pap and Coke😉

500 G white eyed or brown beans

1 Tatashe (red bell pepper)

1 scotch bonnet pepper(fresh pepper)

2 cooking spoonful Red Oil

1 tbsp concentrated tomato puree(for extra color,optional)

4 Tablespoonful ground Crayfish

2 large Onions bulbs

Eggs OR cooked minced meat  OR Bone

Marrow  OR Corned beef OR deboned smoked OR deboned boiled fish

3 bouillon/stock cubes for Seasoning

Water (as needed)

Before you cook  the Ebira Apapa First soak the beans for about 30 mins and wash it,   If you have a good blender, you can grind the beans at this point, but if not, let the coat-less beans soak in water again for at least 2 hours to soften it further.

Choose what extra garnishes you want to add to the Apapa ; If it’s eggs, boil the eggs, remove the shells and slice into small pieces, then set aside. If it’s fresh fish, boil the fish,remove bones  and cut into small pieces. If you prefer corned beef or sardines, and If you prefer okro then you can add it as well.

then take it out of the can, and set aside. If you prefer Banana Leaves/ Uma Leaves(Thaumatococcus Daniellii), then wash thoroughly and leave to dry out in a colander/sieve. **Wash the peppers and slice the onions.

Strain the beans, pour it into your blender(do this in batches).  Add the peppers(you can also add thick tomato paste, to give it more color).  Add the onions, crayfish and stock cubes. Add a little water to help the blender work better. Grind the beans until you get a desired soft consistency, without granules or beans lumps.

If you’re using bean flour, mix the flour in a little water to form a thick paste, then pour the paste into a blender,add the peppers,onioncrayfish and stock cubes and blend until smooth.

Pour the blended Apapa beans into a wide bowl;Stir and slowly add some water and continue stirring until you get a lighter consistency, but not too watery. Now, add the Red oil, taste for salt and if need be, add a little salt (remember you already added stock cubes, so go easy on the salt).  Mix thoroughly and then take out your greased moi moi containers or moi moi leaves.

Pour the mixture into each of the containers or Apapa leaf and add your egg or any other garnishes you prefer. Seal or cover the containers and set aside. For Now, line the base of your pot with red paper or the some Apapa leaves;   Pour in some water and set to boil. When the water is boiling, place the sealed Apapa into the pot of boiling water and leave to steam.

As the Apapa starts to cook. Add a little quantity of water from time to time,so that it doesn’t begin to burn underneath.  But be careful not to add to much water as it might get into the Apapa containers and ruin the food by making it watery.

After about 45 minutes, put a knife through the Apapa; if the knife comes out clean, then the Apapa is ready. Note that the cooking time for Apapa depends on the type of container you are using and also on the quantity of Apapa you are cooking (5 pieces of Apapa in a small pot, will definitely cook faster than 30 pieces of Apapa in a large pot).

If you are in doubt about whether the Apapa is well cooked or not; it is advisable to leave it to cook for about 1 hour (adding some water occasionally). The Apapa tends to cook faster with the foil, nylons and leaves, but takes longer with the plastic bowl.

Now, take out the Apapa from the pot and leave to cool a bit before unwrapping or turning it onto a plate.