Pap (also known as akamu, ogi or koko) is one of our very popular staple in Nigeria and usually the first weaning meal that a lot of mums know to give their baby. The process of making pap is easy if you follow my 7-steps to making pap, which I did with a combination of grains for a more nutritious baby meal.
When pap is made fresh, it requires to be either preserved in the fridge for some days or in the freezer for months, which requires the process of getting it out to thaw first before use. An alternative to these is to make homemade dry pap powder, which simply requires a little more process of turning the wet and solid pap into a dry powdery form like custard.
That is what I am going to show you here and if you are a more visual person, you can watch the video below.
Homemade Dry Pap Powder or Powdered Pap
- Process your corn into pap. Find it here.
- Break the pap into small pieces.
- Spread in a tray or an oven tray if using an oven or dehydrator.
- Allow to sun dry for at least 2 days. If using a dehydrator, set it to the recommended temperature and time. I did mine for 2hrs at 60 degrees Celsius. If you are using an oven, you may need to increase the temperature a bit more but not too much to burn the pap.
- Ensure you turn it at intervals to get them all properly dried.
- Allow to cool before grinding in your blender.
- Sieve to get the fine powder and store in a dry air tight container.
Note that if there is any moisture left in the pap, it will start getting moulds within days, so ensure it is well dried and cooled. Also your container should be clean and dry too.
I hope I broke it down well for you. Please leave a comment here and if you make it, follow us Instagram and Facebook for ideas on how to use pap powder.
Hello, thanks for this.but which is better to soak,sieve and dry the pap or to grind the maize into powder without soaking it,
They are both good but I would soak, grind and sieve because it improves the nutritional value and also helps reduce some anti-nutrients in the corn.
I have been pondering on this pap powder for a while now, in fact I didn’t sleep all through the night. I was thinking of this, then I browsed the internet and came across your explanation. Thank you so much for sharing. Please can I use a microwave in place of a dehydrator or oven?
You are welcome Faith. I don’t think microwave is ideal but rather dry under the sun.