How to Make Nigerian Dan Wake

Traditionally, this recipe is served with ground cayenne pepper. The amazing part of this recipe is that it can go a long way with Suya pepper, sauteed vegetables: onions, cabbage, tomatoes; in fact, Dan Wake is all weather.

How to Make Nigerian Dan Wake

Ingredients for Nigerian Dan Wake:

• 2 small party cups beans flour
• 1 small party cup cassava flour
• Beef stock
• 2 teaspoons baking soda or 2 teaspoons edible potash
• 2 tablespoons Kuka powder

Enjoy Dan Wake with any or all of the following:

• Ground cayenne pepper (yaji)
• Ultimate Nigerian Stir-fry
• Suya Pepper (Suya Spice)
• Sautéed vegetables
• Sliced Vegetables
  • Onions
  • Cabbage
  • Tomatoes
  • Cucumber
• Stock Cubes
• Hard-boiled eggs

Things to Notes before cooking with listed ingredients

• Whatever Dan Wake you are making, use 2 parts of beans flour to 1 part of cassava flour.
• The job of the cassava flour is to bind the beans flour as it contains lots of starch. If you do not have cassava flour, use plain flour (all-purpose flour).
• Water is normally used to mix the Dan Wake, but I prefer using beef stock because it gives it a better taste than the bland taste you get when you mix with water. Even though I use a delicious sauce to eat Dan Wake, the meal tastes better when it is seasoned all the way through.
• The job of the edible potash is to make the Dan Wake balls fluffy.
• I get the beef stock when I prepare grilled meat. I boil the meat and store the water (stock) in the freezer for preparing these sorts of meals.
• Kuka Powder which is dried and ground baobab leaves are mucilaginous in nature like Ogbono, not as much as Ogbono, though, and its job is to help bind the Dan Wake even more.

Preparation on Nigerian Dan Wake:

• Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl: cassava flour, beans flour, Kuka powder, and baking soda.
• If you are using edible potash, add the solution and mix. If not, skip this step.
• Start adding the beef stock bit by bit and mix the Dan Wake ingredients at the same time till you get a soft, sticky dough. If your beef stock finishes and you still have not achieved a soft, sticky dough, continue with warm water.
• Pour some water into a pot and set it on the stove to boil. The size of your pot and the quantity of water depending on the quantity of Dan Wake you are making. You want a situation where you can put all the molded dumplings in the water and still have lots of room for them to swim around.
• Once the water boils, start molding the Dan Wake dough with your fingertips. You pick up a small quantity of the dough (about the size of an adult fufu swallow) with your fingertips and mold it into a rough shape (should be like a shapeless amoeba, lol), and throw it into the boiling water. Repeat till the dough is exhausted. You will notice that the lumps of Dan Wake jump to the surface of the water as soon as it heats up.
• If you used edible potash, the dan wake balls might not be quick to come to the surface when heated but stir them so they do not stick to the bottom of the pot.
• Cover the pot and continue cooking on medium heat.
• After 10 minutes, stir and continue cooking. Check back after 10 to 15 minutes; your meal is ready for consumption.

Serve with the side dishes and vegetables.