Masa (The African crumpet)

Masa is made from rice and it's synonymous to the Hausa's in West Africa. This is a savoury recipe and it's perfect as a gluten free base for most Canapés. Enjoy!

Ingredients;

Serves 8 

1 cup of rice flour or 1 cup of soaked rice overnight 

1 cup of cooked rice 

1.5 cups of water

1 teaspoon of bicarbonate soda

1 teaspoon of dry yeast

1 tablespoon of sugar 

2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt

2 ground shallots into a smooth paste

Salt 

Rapeseed oil or vegetable oil for frying

Method :

In a bowl, add the lukewarm water, sugar,  dry yeast and bicarbonate soda and mix well. Leave the mixture for about 20min till it froths. 

Add the  soaked rice or rice flour, cooked rice and yeast mix to a blender

Blend into a smooth paste and transfer into a bowl.

Cover the bowl and leave the mixture in a warm place to proof (double or triple in size), which takes about 7-10 hrs, (where you can see bubbles forming) 

Once the Masa mix has proofed, then add the onion paste, yoghurt and salt to taste. 

Stir till well combined  and follow any of the processes 

below. 

To bake Masa

Pre heat the oven to 180*c. 

Oil muffin tins and place in the oven for 5 minutes

Take the muffin tin out of the oven and pour the Masa mix to a third full. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside and moist inside. 

Serve as an alternative to your Yorkshire pudding for a perfect Sunday roast. 

To pan fry Masa 

Add a teaspoon of oil to a frying pan and place on a medium heat. 

Pour a ladle of the Masa mix to the frying pan and fry gently for 3 minutes on each side. 

Using a round biscuit cutter, cut the pancakes into round shapes. 

The excess left should be placed in the oven for 30 minutes at 160*c. This will serve as a perfect crunchy snack. 

To serve:

This recipe makes a crunchy gluten free base for canapés and it's best served warm. 

 I used the Masa base to make this mushroom and pardon pepper canapé

All photos are by the owner of this blog.