Koki corn is a traditional Cameroon dish prepared with fresh corn ground and steamed in either the corn husk or banana leaves, like Mexican tamale, but without filling. This post will show you how to make this delicious steamed corn cake, substituting the husk/banana leaves with tin foil. This is useful if you can only get dehusked corn from the supermarket.
Corn is a staple food in the West African region, and steamed corn recipes are commonly eaten. Corn moimoi, ekoki, and okpo oka are Nigerian examples which are similar to Cameroon koki corn. The differences between koki corn and these Nigerian dishes are that it is very simple and uses only a few ingredients.
The fresh corn we buy here in the UK is quite sweet, making it perfect for this dish. The sweetness of the corn and the savoury flavours of the added ingredients work well together to create an amazing tasting dish, which is suitable for vegetarians
How To Make Cameroon Koki Corn
Here are the ingredients you need...
A few notes about the ingredients...
- Fresh or frozen corn – Fresh corn on the cob is the key ingredient for koki corn. You can substitute fresh corn with frozen corn. 1 ear of medium size corn roughly equals ¾ cup of frozen corn. So for this recipe, you need 3 cups of frozen corn – allow to thaw before use.
- Wrap: Corn husk or banana wraps are traditionally used for this recipe and are preferred if you can find them. If not, aluminium foil works well. If the mixture is loose, you may need to wrap it in cling film before wrapping in the foil.
How To Make It
Remove the husk from the corn. I used already dehusked corn kernel for this koki corn recipe.
Remove the corn kernels from the cob. This video shows how to do it cleanly.
Add the corn and onion into a food processor; and blend coarsely with as little water as possible. I used about a quarter cup.
Pour the ground corn into a bowl and add the corn flour.
Add the palm oil and some salt to taste, then mix in the spinach.
Line a pot with the husk of the corn, so the husk covers the base as much as possible. This is to prevent water from getting into the wrapped foil as well as raise the wrapped koki out of water to facilitate steaming. We need the steam to cook koki corn.
Pour water into the pot, so it nearly covers the corn husk. Place a piece of aluminium foil over the husk. Place under low heat while you wrap the ground mixture.
Cut a piece of aluminium foil and scoop the mixture into it. Gently wrap the foil around the mixture and fold over the edges.
Place the wrapped bundles in the pot. Fold the aluminium foil over or use another piece to cover to trap steam. Then cover the pan.
Allow to steam for around 1hr. Check after 15-20 mins to make sure the water has not dried out totally as the husk will start to burn if this happens. If needed, add more water closer to the edge of the pot to avoid getting the wraps wet.
The koki corn should hold together and not fall apart after cooking. Give it some time to rest before eating, it becomes more firm as it cools.
Related Recipes
Other recipes from Cameroon to try...
Cameroon Koki Corn
Ingredients
- 4 ears Fresh corn
- 1 Onion
- 3 tablespoons Palm oil
- 1 cup Corn flour
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Spinach
Instructions
- Remove the husk from the corn.
- Remove the corn kernels from the cob.
- Peel the onion and cut into quarters.
- Add the corn and onion into a food processor; and blend coarsely with as little water as possible. I used about a quarter cup.
- Pour the ground corn into a bowl and add the cornflour.
- Add the palm oil and some salt to taste, then mix in the spinach.
- Line a pot with the husk of the corn, so the husk covers the base as much as possible. This is to prevent water from getting into the wrapped foil.
- Pour water into the pot, so it nearly covers the corn husk. Place a piece of aluminium foil over the husk. Place under low heat while you wrap the ground mixture.
- Cut a piece of aluminium foil and scoop the mixture into it. Gently wrap the foil around the mixture and fold over the edges.
- Place the wrapped bundles in the pot. Fold the aluminium foil over or use another piece to cover.
- Allow to steam for around 1hr. Check after 15-20 mins to make sure the water has not dried out totally as the husk will start to burn if this happens. If needed, add more water closer to the edge of the pot to avoid getting the wraps wet.
- Remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 mins before eating.
I'm thinking that this could be easily adapted to an Instant Pot. I'll experiment
Le me know how it goes Azjake!
Your instructions talk about lining the base of the pot with the husk of the corn, but your pictures (and the intent, as far as i can tell) are to use the *cobb* as the device that raises the wrapped bundles out of the boiling water and simply in the steam.
Thanks for your comments Mark. You're right, the intent is to raise the koki out of the water to facilitate steaming, as well as prevent water from getting into the bundle.
In the USA we call the outer leaves of an ear of corn “husks”. And the part you cut the kernels of corn off, we call a “cob”. I was thinking from your beginning description that if you had the whole ear of corn, that you’d instruct to wrap the mixture in the husks for steaming. Is that what you do if you have the whole thing?
My next door neighbor is from Cameroon and just made me this recipe, but she also puts habanero pepper in it too. It was delicious!