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.
Nice one…the explanation is so clear.God bless you
Thank you
Please, can I get explanation on how akara chips is made
I don’t know about it…hearing akara chips for the first time.
This is an eye opener, thank you very much. I have been thinking on which giant machine that can make me a powdered pap. But I now know better how to go about it…
My pleasure.
Thank u sis God bless
You are welcome
Thanks for this explicit explanation sis.
You did Justice to it,I have been having trouble preserving my pap due to epileptic power supply in our environment.
You are welcome
Thanks for this explanation… I have been pounding on how to go about it too, I actually thought grinding the maize without soaking will not really give that ogi taste, now I can finally make my own dried ogi without much stress. Thanks again.
Thanks so much for your explanation. I got the wisdom and I have been making my dry/powdered pap just the same way you explained it.
You are welcome
Thanks for the explanation but Will I still get the same taste if I did not soak my maize before grinding it into powder am confused over this
No, you wont. The soaking is a fermentation process that changes the taste too.
Chioma idi too much dalu rinne you have just received me I have been wandering how to go about this for a long time now I know better. Imela nwannem.
LOL. The thing melu gi isupu Igbo big time…daalu nwanne
Thank you for the explanation really appreciate the breakdown
Pase after the whole process can one still add some other ingredients like ginger and the likes or your grind both together b4 dehydration or sun drying
Thanks
You are welcome Delight. I personally think adding after draining the water is better, then mix and sundry
This is a very helpful post.
Thank you very much.
You are welcome.
Plss I need to know if I can chat you privately so I explained myself more ,,is it possible to use the dry corn to get all this ,,or will I need to shock the corn first before I can do it
You will not get the same by-product.
This is great. Thank you so much. I’m into pap business and will certainly give this a try. I hope it comes out great. But I have some questions;
1. In rainy season as this when we barely have sun?, how do we go about the “sun drying” part so it doesn’t have odour?
2. Do we have to add any preservatives? I yes, please recommend. If no, how long can it last?
I’ll appreciate a response. Thanks
Hi Moyin, you can use a dehydrator, which is what I use now. I make this for personal use, so it is not on a commercial quantity. I don’t use or know about preservatives, but mine lasts for more than 2 months when dried well. It can be more but I have not experimented.
Pls how can one get a dehydrator and what is the estimate cost?
What quantity can it dry at a time?
2ndly can the dehydrator be fabricated locally?
There are different dehydrators and I can’t really give a price because it depends on size, and also your location. There may be locally fabricated ones too if you make enquiries. You can use your oven too to dry things and the sun if you are in a tropic climate like Nigeria
Your explanation is the best so far,,dat I ve come across on social internet for now…thanks so much ma and God bless you..but one more question ma, for the oven is it advisable one uses gas oven to dry.
Thank you so much, You can but at a very low temperature (like 70 degrees celscius) and it will probably take hours