Gone beyond South-West, amala joints are now Abuja’s favourite

Amala has certainly travelled beyond its original South-western Nigeria abode. That is why it is common to see Amala joints scattered all over major towns and cities of Nigeria, Daily Trust visits some top spots in Abuja.

In Abuja especially, the suffix ‘amala’ is added to the names of most restaurants who offer the yam flour meal. And in major eateries and food joints that have carved a niche for themselves, Nigerians from all tribes now queue up for the sumptuous meal popular among the Yoruba.

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Having spent most part of his life in the south-western part of the country, Bala Musa, now resident in Abuja, has acclimatised to some Yoruba culture, which is the predominant tribe in the South West, among which is the craving for its popular amala dish.

Musa, who hails from Kano State, came to give himself a treat in one of the many amala joints that have sprung up in Abuja over the years.

“I once lived in Lagos so I have been exposed to the culture of Yoruba people, part of which is eating amala. I don’t eat it at home because we don’t cook it, so I come to places like this whenever I want to give myself a treat.”

Amala is one of the many local dishes made from the West African white yam (Dioscorea rotundata) and is processed by drying its inner white part, which is thereafter ground into powder.

However, before it goes into the hot water which transmutes the once white inedible flour into a brownish soft dough to be savoured with a well garnished soup. It is sieved to remove some lumps that refused to be well smoothened through the mill.

The food goes handy with a vegetable soup called ewedu or Ayoyo in Yoruba and Hausa languages respectively; beans soup (gbegiri) or the fusion of the two soups (Abula).

Served hot to maintain its fluffiness, fire keeps on heating the large pots in many Abuja’s amala joints which attract both the rich and poor who come to relish the affordable amala meals, even as they are situated in highbrow areas of Nigeria’s capital city.

The popularity of the joints has made some to open branches in other districts to save their customers the long trip and inconvenience.

Often located in gardens, some of the joints are constructed with tiled concrete foundation and branches of dry bamboo with different patterns of roofing to complete the structure.

The bigwig amala joints have overtime diversified their trade from the local dishes that gave them their recognition during their humble beginnings into other dishes like rice to give a variety to their customers who come to appease their palate.

At Wuye, Iya Oyo amala joint, now known as Matosh kitchen, maintaining a single queue with a bowl in hand, for those eating there, is a normal ritual strictly adhered to by customers without prejudice to their social status.

Though when Daily Trust visited, customers were yet to troop in to have a taste of the delicious meals on its menu as few customers were around, but activities around hints of a place that host hundreds of people daily.

The dining area is donned with arrays of red and white plastic chairs and tables with a compartment carved out as the serving area.

A sizeable part of the serving area is barricaded with a rope to ensure only entry and exit points were left out, probably to ensure no one cuts corners.

Also, the compartment is fitted with glasses with a little opening to pass bowls or containers to meal servers when orders are placed.

At the exit of the barricade, cashiers rely on the customers honesty to know what to charge them as they have no idea what food they bought.

A peep through the windows reveals workers who act as if they are fighting with the content of a cauldron to settle who owns the pestle used in turning the yam flour. Amidst the seeming quarrel, the flames and steam, a truck of Coca-Cola was offloading packs of soft drinks, an allusion that the joint is a beehive for many who come to feast on the food.

On the neatly arranged rows of chairs are scattered customers who quietly eat their meals without chatter while those who prefer to go out with their food depart with a cellophane bag concealing what they purchased.

Bola Ogundipe told our reporter that she eats out at the place occasionally, especially when going to work, stating that she patronises them due to the taste of their soup.

“I have known this joint for a while and this is where I buy my food if I don’t cook at home. They prepare the meals well and no one will come here and say the money spent was not justified. Apart from being affordable, they cook in a serene environment.”

When this reporter tried to speak with the management of the restaurant, he was told that the owner does not grant interviews with journalist as she does not like publicity.

At Amala Place in Mabushi, Musa placed his face cap on the table where his plate of food was, so the droplets of sweat that have amassed on his forehead do not get it wet.

Breaking the code of African dining, he uses a fork to devour the different plates of amala and ewedu soup with goat meat he was having for the afternoon. When asked why he decided not to use his hands, he said, “I am not comfortable using my hands because there may be dirt in my finger due to the work I did today. Water and soup made available may not wash off the germs well,” he said.

He added that if he were at home, he would have considered using his hands to eat the ‘swallow’ – a local parlance for food that don’t require munching.

He added that he usually visits the place thrice in a week and prefers amala. “For other reasons he comes there, he said, I like how soft their meat is and the maintenance of a hygienic environment.”

Though Amala Place is not situated in a garden like most joints, its structure looks same with the dried bamboo branches used to complement the concrete foundation of the place.

The restaurant uped its ante with the offering of food delivery for those who may be too busy to visit their location. Also, the place is partitioned into two. Customers who wish to queue up have a section and those who prefer to sit while a staff comes to get their orders have another, though attracting extra charges.

Like a modernised restaurant, staff are well kitted with head coverings and clotted in customised outfits of yellow shirts inscribed with the logo and name of the joint.

For those who choose to queue to get their food, they reach out to  the servers behind a counter, to say what they want from the different foods available.

Daily Trust observed that its teller point is digitised as the cashiers input the payment of what was requested into a computer that automatically generates a receipt.

Musa was not the only one eating amala with fork as another customer was seen using a cutlery to devour the meal while chatting with his companion.

For a customer who simply gave his name as Abraham, moving out from his erstwhile home which was not far from the joint did not deter him from visiting often for a bowl of amala.

Abraham, who opted for a plate of rice when our reporter visited the place, said he eats at the joint daily when he was close by but now, he comes occasionally.

While emphasizing on the well-maintained hygiene of the place, he enthused that the meal there is excellently prepared and affordable. He also praised the amala served there which he said he usually recommends to friends when they visit him.

Oluwaloseyi Amala Joint, in Utako District, also has the peculiar amala joint structure and is located in a garden. With its roof made from a trampoline tent, the joint was a beehive of activity when our reporter visited.

Despite a light drizzling, customers came in their vehicles so as not to miss the meal of the day.

The inner area is not big enough to accommodate much customers, thus, a tent was erected outside the bamboo structure for those who want to avoid the bedlam of chattering and movement there.

To get served, one has to be patient enough to lure the attention of the workers who attend to several customers at the same time. But there is the window of going to the serving area to get a quicker attention.

Amidst the screaming of names of workers to attend to known customers, the TV set hung to entertain customers was largely unnoticed as they drown morsels of meals while those who are not eating were carried away in conversations with others glued to their phones.

It was observed that tea was also part of the menu to facilitate easy digestion of the meal. Even though the environment was not as appealing as the other joints, the business seems to be run by a family as there was no standard attire or process for workers.

“When I lodged into a nearby hotel, I asked where I could eat pounded yam and was directed to this place,” said Isaac Christopher.

“Most hotels have international dishes on their menu and it takes time to get to you, but here, you have the feeling of home as you don’t have to eat under air conditioning or alone in your room. The food is also very hot as you can it being processed, so you don’t have the fears of eating microwaved food,” he added.

While praising the quality of the food, he however urged them to make the place more hygienic.

Ojuelegba amala joint looks urbane with a stylish wall daubed with graffiti. Its branches at Gwarinpa and Life Camp were not built like other amala joints as it has a posh outlook.

Customer are required to queue up to get their orders and their meal are more expensive than the other joints, though it maintains the N100 price tag for the signatory meal, amala.

Sunday Eniola, a long-time resident of Abuja, credited Iya for giving amala joints the high regard it has today in the city.

Eniola stated that her packaging made all that visit to queue up as they patiently wait for their turn to get the food. “There, no one takes your order as the queue is meant for all. I think it is all about hygiene and then how the food tastes. We all love to eat something good and for a city that attracts people from all over the country, having to eat your local dish is exciting,” he said.

He added that the meal was cheap but noted that other meals are not as cheap as amala.

Attempts to speak with management of the joints did not yield any result as they all said the right person to speak was not available, however, a staff of one of the joints who does not want his name published because he was not authorized to speak with journalists said the hygienic and serene environment of the joint makes it appealing to customers.

Eating Amala with different soups is healthy and no one wants to restrict their diet to junk food which are mostly costly. I think the joints are located in gardens for that feel of tranquillity which nature offers.”

He noted that the popularity of amala in Abuja city has led to more places opening but maintained that when the food is up to the expectation of customers, they will keep trooping in.