Cameroon | Side

Koki Beans

Black-eyed peas blended into a smooth paste with palm oil and spices, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed into a savoury, custard-like cake. A Cameroonian classic.

Country
Cameroon
Region
Central Africa
Time
90 min
Serves
8
Level
medium
Recipe overview

Visible recipe content ships in HTML from the first paint

Koki is a festive dish from the grasslands of western Cameroon, traditionally prepared by the Bamileke people for celebrations and rites of passage. The black-eyed peas are soaked, peeled, and blended into a smooth batter enriched with palm oil, then steamed in banana leaf parcels. The result is a dense, flavourful cake with a beautiful orange hue from the palm oil.

What the dish tastes like

Black-eyed peas blended into a smooth paste with palm oil and spices, then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed into a savoury, custard-like cake. A Cameroonian classic.

When to cook it

Best for Festivals, celebrations, rites of passage, with a medium cooking level and about 90 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Ripe plantains, puff-puff, or on its own as a snack

Follow the collection route

Vegetarian Africa is the main AfroKitchen collection route tied to this dish right now. Vegetarian Africa

Servings: 8

The core SEO content is fully visible in HTML. The controls above only recalculate ingredients and nutrition client-side for convenience.

How to cook it

Step-by-step instructions

Back to Cameroon
1
Prepare the beans
Soak black-eyed peas overnight. Rub between your hands to loosen the skins, then rinse — the skins will float to the surface. Repeat until most skins are removed.
Peeling the beans is essential for a smooth texture. Patience here pays off.
2
Blend the batter
Blend the peeled beans with onion, scotch bonnet, and a splash of water until very smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in palm oil and salt, mixing vigorously until the oil is fully incorporated.
The batter should be thick but pourable — add water sparingly.
3
Wrap in banana leaves
Soften banana leaves over a flame or in hot water. Place a ladleful of batter in the centre of each leaf and fold into a neat rectangular parcel, securing with string or toothpicks.
Make sure the parcels are sealed well to prevent water from getting in during steaming.
4
Steam the koki
Arrange parcels in a large steamer or pot with a raised platform and water at the bottom. Cover tightly and steam for 1 hour until firm and set.
Check water level every 20 minutes and top up if needed.
Steam koki 60:00
5
Serve
Unwrap the koki parcels and slice or serve whole. Enjoy warm with ripe plantains or on its own.
Koki can be reheated by re-steaming the next day.

Regional variations and live helpers still layer on top through AfroKitchen’s interactive surfaces. This static page is the crawlable starting point, while the fallback template handles extra kitchen tools when needed.