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Did you know you can use Oatmeal as an African swallow food? Swallow meals are popular in Africa. They are not stand alone meals. They are complimentary to our African soups like Egusi soup, Okro soup to mention few.Swallow foods can either be made from fresh ingredients or from the same ingredients in flour form.
Some examples include but are not limited to
- Pounded yam swallow made from fresh boiled yams or from yam flour
- Plantain swallow made from fresh plantains or plantain flour
- wheat swallow from wheat flour
- Eba made from Processed cassava
- Corn swallow made from fresh corns or corn flour (common in Ghana)
Most of these have high carbohydrate content, which is why oatmeal swallow became popular in recent years because it is gluten free and a lower carb option* it is also heart healthy and high in fiber.
It is readily available in the US and is easy to make so it’s a good substitute to our African swallow foods.
You can buy the already made oatmeal flour from the Stores but I prefer to make mine so I am sure it’s just the oats in it. To do that all you need is to blend the oats in a dry blender or food processor till it’s finely ground then you store in an airtight container.
Today’s recipe is for immediate use so we will be blending it wet and cooking immediately. Lets get started. Thanks for stopping by and we hope you give this easy recipe a try. Would love to hear from you if you give this a shot. I am also curious as to which is your favorite African swallow, leave a comment below and let us know.
See you in the kitchen..
Chichi?
*Oats may be a lower carb option but it’s not a strict low carb option which means it’s not keto friendly (LCHF). Oats are naturally gluten free but can get contaminated with gluten through processing facilities that process wheat. So if you are gluten free be sure to look at the label before buying.
Oatmeal Swallow
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Traditional Oats
- 3 Cups Warm water
Instructions
- Measure the Oats into the jar of your blender.
- Pour 3 cups of warm water into the blender.Allow to soak for about 45 secs to develop the stretch. Then blend till smooth.
- Pour into a 2 Quart sauce pan and place on a lit stove. Stir continuously until it comes together. (Please don't leave unattended, it will burn. )
- Allow to cool for about a minute then serve with any soup of your choice. You can wrap in sean wrap and put in warmer if not ready to serve. Enjoy!!!
Notes
- I like my oatmeal swallow to have some texture (like garri) so I don't blend it too smooth.
- If you want a very smooth texture, blend till it's very smooth or you blend it dry till it's finely ground.
- If you want it lighter/softer add an extra 1/2 cup of water while blending.
- Remember to let it cool after cooking. It may seem too soft but cooling down will thicken it.
Nk
I tried making oat swallow but its sweet after making it.
Chichi Uguru
Hi Nk,
I am not sure why your oatmeal swallow would taste sweet. Did you use plain oats? Plain oats should taste just like Oats.
Check your oats package to see if it’s the flavored ones. Those are Sweetened and are for oatmeal cereal. Therefore it won’t work as a swallow option. Hope that helps. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe and well!
– Chichi
Chisom
Have you tried to prepare soybambara flour as swallow.pls update us on it ,as it’s also a very healthy protein swallow meal
Chichi Uguru
Hi Chisom,
I haven’t tried it but will definitely update you when I do.
-Chichi
Moji Iyamabo
Just tried the oatmeal swallow for this first time. Thank you so much!
Chichi Uguru
Hi Moji,
So glad you liked it. Thanks so much for dropping me a line. You are amazing. 🤗🤗