By Abdulwasiu Hassan
The American artist, illustrator and writer Maira Kalman famously said, "Everyone I know is looking for solace, hope, and a tasty snack." Awara, the Nigerian version of tofu or curd cheese made of either soya bean or milk, perhaps qualifies to be all three.
Across Africa's largest economy, awara — also called wara — is more than just comfort food. Schoolchildren, usually the epitome of gastronomic fickleness, surprisingly don't seem to tire of it. Health-conscious people happily succumb to its spiced or seasoned charms without a sprinkling of guilt. Vendors swear by its saleability as a snack for all seasons.
"Five measures of soya bean can fetch one N20,000 worth of awara," Fati Malam Hussaini, who has built a thriving business around this simple yet enriching snack, tells TRT Afrika.
It costs Fati approximately N1,600 to make awara from a measure of soya bean. With N8,000, the vendors she supplies to can potentially make a profit of more than N11,000 by retailing the awara she makes for them.
Taste of versatility
What makes awara a bestseller in Nigeria is its sheer versatility – be it as a standalone snack, a portion of vegetarian protein to go with a meal, or as the no-brainer choice when all one needs a bite without having to go through a menu and count calories.
Called awara in northern Nigeria and wara in the southern part of the country, the common alternative to traditional soya bean cream cheese is the variant made from cow or goat milk.
The process of making awara is as straightforward as the homegrown goodness of bean that goes into it. The soya is ground after being soaked in water, followed by sieving the chaff. Thereafter, the liquid is mixed with ingredients like potash and alum or sour water and cooked till it boils.
The liquid is again poured through a sieve, leaving behind the solid cheese-like substance that is awara. It is then cut into sizes and fried with condiments chosen to tickle the palate.
Wholesome history
In some central and southern states of Nigeria, where the snack assumes the nomenclature wara, the primary ingredient is milk. Local culinary lore in the south-western region has it that wara is named after a town of the same name in Kwara state, where production of curd cheese is believed to have originated.
The variant made from cow milk is said to be the preserve of women from pastoral families in the southwest, the majority of them of Fulani. The first step after milking the cattle is to drain the impurities with a sieve. Some Sodom apple-leaf juice is squeezed into the milk as a coagulant before the mix is cooked for a while.
Once the milk reaches boiling temperature and coagulates, the wara or awara is shaped into blocks, cut and fried.
Apart from being a popular snack among students of primary schools in northern Nigeria, awara has long been used as a substitute for meat and fish in a variety of home-cooked dishes. In some cases, awara fills the gap in terms of dietary requirements if traditional animal protein like meat and fish are out of reach because of budgetary constraints.
Awara's nutritional benefits are immense. Besides protein, it contains nutrients like magnesium, calcium, fiber, unsaturated fatty acids, carbohydrates, vitamins B, C, and K, iron, and manganese.
Doctors say it aids in digestion and bowel movement, drives the immune system, strengthens blood vessels, reduces cholesterol, improves bone health, and is an easy choice for people with diabetes and lactose intolerance.
As they say in the food business, happiness is when you can eat without having to worry about what you are eating. For Nigerians, its awara.
