Koki Corn (African Corn Tamales)
Koki Corn (African Fresh Corn Tamales) is a wonderful corn dish made primarily with fresh corn, cornmeal, spinach, and palm oil wrapped in banana leaves or foil and steamed to perfection. A great meal on its own or as a side for your favorite meat.
Koki Corn is one of the vegetarian meals that I truly enjoy. Admittedly, I am a total sucker for anything made with fresh corn.
Koki corn and corn cakes are at the top of my list. There are so many ways to make koki corn, but I like keeping it short, simple, and sweet. I say it’s short, simple, and sweet because I make it with only four ingredients – fresh corn, cornmeal, spinach, and palm oil. Not the industrialized palm oil, by the way. The good stuff that doesn’t harm the environment.
The fresh corn is coarsely ground, mixed with cornmeal, spinach, and palm oil, and then wrapped in banana leaves or foil and steamed.
Koki Corn: African Tamales With Fresh Corn
This dish is cooked in West Africa, predominantly in Cameroon, during the rainy season because of the abundance of fresh corn. Here in America, you don’t have to wait for summer to make this dish because corn is available year-round.
The fresh corn used in parts of Africa has a higher starch content than that in the United States, but adding cornmeal to this recipe produces a very good approximation of the original. You can serve this dish as a meal on its own or with a protein of your choice: chicken or meat.
These freeze well.
Recipe Ingredients
- Fresh Corn – There’s nothing like fresh corn when it’s in season. But you can use frozen if you’re craving these in the middle of winter.
- Cornmeal – African corn is much starchier, so a little cornmeal gives the right feel and flavor.
- Spinach – Add a zing of green and excellent nutrition with leafy greens.
- Palm Oil – The right amount of fat for a creamier texture also has a gorgeous red color. I repeat, this is NOT the commercialized palm oil crop that is so controversial. You can find it in almost any African or Brazilian grocery store.
How to Make Koki Corn
Make the Corn Mixture
- Prep Corn – Remove the husks from the corn, and, using a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the cob from top to bottom and gather the kernels with their juices in a large bowl. Use the back of a knife to scrape the residual corn from the cobs. Repeat with the remaining corn. Set the corn cobs aside because we’ll be using them later. (Photos 1-2)
- Puree – Using a food processor or blender, pulse the corn with a cup of water until coarsely ground. You do not want to puree the corn. (Photo 3)
- Mix – In a bowl, combine the mixture with cornmeal, salt, and palm oil. Finally, add the chopped spinach and set aside. (Photos 4-8)
Prepare the Koki
- Cut the banana leaves into rectangles, remove any ugly edges, submerge them in water to clean, drain, and pat dry. Use plastic wrap if banana leaves are not available. The leaves must be heated and wilted over an open high flame to make them flexible.
- Prep Wrapping – Then, cut the aluminum into large squares or rectangles and place a piece of the leaf or saran wrap on it. Repeat the process and set them aside.
- Wrap – Place about a cup of the koki corn mixture on the leaf. Then, quickly fold aluminum over it and press the sides into a rectangular shape, pressing inwards so none of the koki runs out. Then, fold the sides twice to seal. Repeat the process and set them aside. (Photos 9-10)
Steam Koki
- Prep Pot – Place the koki corn tamales in the pot with reserved cobs. (Photo 11)
- Add Water – Line the bottom of a large stock pot with reserved cobs. Add enough water to almost but not quite submerge the cobs. Cover the cobs with a layer of aluminum foil. The koki corn should not come in contact with the water so they don’t get soggy. You just want to steam them. (Photos 12-14)
- Steam – Cover them with more banana leaves or foil. Steam them for about 30 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure you have enough water in the pot.
- Serve – Turn off the heat, take the koki corn bundles out, and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy. (Photo 15)
More Delicious Corn Recipes to Try
- Oven-Roasted Corn on the Cob
- Hot Corn Dip
- Jamaican Cornmeal Porridge
- Jiffy Corn Casserole
- Smoked Corn on the Cob
Watch How to Make It
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Koki Corn (African Fresh Corn Tamales)
Ingredients
- 5 ears fresh corn
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 1 cup (150g) cornmeal
- 3 cups (90g) spinach
- 1 teaspoon (7g) salt
- 2-3 tablespoons (30-45ml) palm oil
- Foil, banana or plantain leaves, or Saran wrap
Instructions
- Remove the husks from the corn, and, using a sharp knife, cut the kernels from the cob from top to bottom and gather the kernels with their juices in a large bowl. Use the back of a knife to scrape the residual corn from the cobs. Repeat with the remaining corn. Set the corn cobs aside because we'll be using them later.
- Using a food processor or blender, pulse the corn with a cup of water until coarsely ground. You do not want to puree the corn.
- In a bowl, combine the mixture with cornmeal, salt, and palm oil.
- Finally, add the chopped spinach and set aside.
- Cut the banana leaves into rectangles, remove any ugly edges, submerge them in water to clean, drain, and pat dry. Use plastic wrap if banana leaves are not available.
- The leaves must be heated and wilted over an open high flame to make them flexible.
- Then, cut the aluminum into large squares or rectangles and place a piece of the leaf or saran wrap on it. Repeat the process and set them aside.
- Place about a cup of the koki corn mixture on the leaf.
- Then quickly fold aluminum over it and press sides into a rectangle shape, pressing inwards so none of the koki runs out.
- Then fold the sides twice in to seal. Repeat the process and set them aside.
- Place the koki corn tamales in the pot with reserved cobs.
- Line the bottom of a large stock pot with reserved cobs. Add enough water to almost but not quite submerge the cobs. Cover the cobs with a layer of aluminum foil. The koki corn should not come in contact with the water so they don’t get soggy. You just want to steam them.
- Cover them with more banana leaves or foil. Steam them for about an hour minutes, checking occasionally to make sure you have enough water in the pot.
- Turn off the heat, take the koki corn bundles out, and let them rest for about 10 minutes. Unwrap and enjoy.
Tips & Notes:
- If fresh corn isn’t available, you can use frozen corn. It’s taste is closer to fresh than canned corn is.
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
I cant Wait to try this recipe for my friends thanks a lot.:)
Please let me know how it turns out . Thanks.
It’s me again! I made this to accompany the Red Snapper. Another hit! https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7WywDLS7ktXSjI2ZjQ5U0plWlU/edit?usp=docslist_api
Thank you!
Thanks for the feedback and the pics- Your are AWESOME!!!
Wow…will try this tomorrow.I love easy to prepare meals.And this is soo healthy.Thanks for sharing.
Hi Ed! Let me know how it works for you.
Yum! I’m making these today. How long do they need to steam?
Steam for about 50-60 minutes.
Thank you!
I recall my addiction to this when I was at fegocal. I intend to add crayfish to mine for that authentic taste. Thanks for posting this. I will let you know how it turns out.
Thanks China. It is always great to have feedback!
Great recipe! Easy to follow too. I tried this out and the results were fantastic. I did not use sweet corn so added only a little cornmeal. Prepared it for my sister’s bday and everyone loved it.
Well done! Thank you.
Ps: all your recipies are great and of excellent quality too
Aww, thanks. Really appreciate the feedback Olga
How can I make this with the sweetcorn we have in the UK and no banana leave? Thanks
Debbie, I would presume the sweetcorn in UK is the same like the one I used in this recipe . You can use baking muffin pan . Check out this Moin Moin recipe here . Let me know how it works for you.
Hi… I like exploring various dishes and this looked so healthy. Tried it. Will post pics when I’m done. Thanks for the steps and pics too. How long should I have it on the stove for? Maybe I missed that but I’m not sure.
Nevermind…it must cook for 60mins. Ok. I have three on the pot now and will see how they come out before I try the next three. Thanks. Will post pics.
I tried this and it came out perfect. Thanks for your amazing recipes
Joyce, thanks for the taking the time to let me know. It means a lot to me.
Thank you so much for these recipes. U’ve greatly increased my recipe collection. My family is grateful for all the food I make, using ur recipes.
Thank u
Aww, thanks Clo clo, tell your family I am so happy they enjoy my food. Thanks you for taking the time to say this it means a lot to me.
this recipe sounds really good but please, please, PLEASE don’t use the plastic wrap against your food, ever, but especially with heat. Research the science-based studies and see how poisons are leached into our bodies (and brains) from plastic of every kind, especially soft, pliable plastic. We’re talking lead, mercury, cadmium and a host of other toxic chemicals. If you still think aluminum foil is ok to use (which it isn’t) then try using all natural wax paper from a healthfood store in place of the plastic wrap. Store bought wax paper uses petroleum based wax. Better yet, just use natural corn husks or banana leaves, hopefully chemical-free. Please! 🙂
THanks for the suggestion kim, will try to get wax paper.
You have one cup of water listed as an ingredient but its not included in the instructions?
Ashley, you use the water to blend the corn . Will update the recipe
Yummy yummy! I’ll try it out. My people in Naija – Uli, we love corn in all forms and this will present an exciting comeback dish. I learnt they used to eat this way back, but not done so perfectly. We actually have the appropriate pots to steam such meals, like moimoi. Will let you know how it turned out. Thanks a million.
lucky you! I usually have to use the corn stalks to create the effect of steaming . Thanks for stopping by
Thanks a lot!…this is one of my favorite Cameroonian dishes!!
Thanks, for stopping by! Send me a picture when you make it
This is really nice. I love the step by step instructions with pictures. Thanks for this.