Kokoro With Avocado & Bean Hummus Dips

There are so many snacks that I enjoyed in my childhood but I don't get to eat as readily/easily as I want...and so, ocassionally, I get a serious craving for them. More importantly, because I am in the food business, I feel the need to find out more about how these snacks are made, and better still, how best they can be served or utilised...

One of my favourite snacks (of all time) is called kokoro....made from coarse corn meal, sugar, salt and sometimes spices like ginger. (/a variation of this snack is made from gari/cassava meal, but I stay far away from this variant, because it does not taste as good as the original...!). Kokoro is made by making a thick batter from the corn meal, then rolling and molding into finger like shapes and deep frying till golden brown. The outcome, a savoury, gritty and very crunchy snack, actually the sound that the snack makes when you bite into it, is where the name comes from.... korokoro, kokoro, kokoroko...!

Truth be told, I cannot cook or profess to be knowledgeable in cooking every single Nigerian food...! But trust me, I am very knowledgeable about a lot of these dishes/foods. I take it upon myself to find out all there is to know.

Sometimes, I exercise the policy, if its not broken, don't fix it. that is to say, if you have an excellent kokoro vendor, there is no need for you to make any at home.... besides, it could be really tedious and challenging to make these snacks at home, more so because, you can never get that unique taste you get from those made by the vendors/sellers... I attribute this to the equipment they use, and also their years of experience making and perfecting their trade.... I seriously cannot and do not want to compete with these people, rather, I will use that time instead to explore new and exciting ways to serve my kokoro or include them in other recipes...

I do feel kokoro bears some semblance to Doritos...! I really do. In the first instance,they are both made from corn meal... So the other day I decided to serve my kokoro with some side dips, avocado and bean hummus dips. IT Worked...

If you live in Lagos and lucky enough to find good quality kokoro, buy some and try eating with an avocado and/or bean humus dip.... You will thank me later... and if you do not live in the area where you can readily find some kokoro, befriend a Lagosian and then ask them to buy and send you some....😉

To Make Dips:

• Avocado Dip:. Peel and dice some ripe avocado pears. Add some salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using a fork, mash pear until soft. Serve with kokoro.
• Bean Hummus Dip: Get recipe here