~344 cal · 5g protein · 77g carbs · 1g fat (estimated, per serving)
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Soft white steamed rice-corn cakes
🇧🇯 Cotonou
Ablo are soft steamed cakes of the Bight of Benin, made from a fermented rice-and-corn batter that cooks up pale, spongy, and faintly sweet. In Benin they are a popular breakfast and snack, eaten plain, with sugar, or dipped into a spicy tomato or pepper sauce alongside fried fish.
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Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 4 —
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2 cups rice flour
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1/2 cup a little cornmeal
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3 tbsp sugar
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1 tsp yeast
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as needed warm water
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a pinch a pinch of salt
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as needed banana leaves or moulds
Instructions
1
Whisk the rice flour, cornmeal, sugar, yeast, salt, and warm water into a thick batter.
2
Let it ferment until bubbly.
3
Spoon into small moulds or leaf cups.
4
Steam over boiling water until set, spongy, and cooked through.
5
Serve warm, plain or with a spicy sauce.
Cotonou tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Cotonou. Benin's bustling seaside city of red-sauced cornmeal.
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Benin. Birthplace of Vodun and of cornmeal simmered in red sauce.
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Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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