Nigerian snack; Awara (soya bean cake)

A Nigerian delicacy found in the Northern part of Nigeria “Awara” or soya bean cake is common among the Hausa people and it is majorly eaten as a snack

Awara is made from soya beans,which is a species of legume native to East Asia and it contains a large amount of protein. For 13,000 years, this plant have been a native to China where it has been cultivated. It was introduced into other regions of Asia centuries later and it wasn’t until the early 20th century that it began to be used as animal feed in the west.

Soya bean is now the most widely grown and utilised legume worldwide. Like other beans, soya beans grows in pods enclosing edible seeds usually green, but can be yellow, brown or black. The texture is so adaptable that soya beans are frequently processed into variety of foods such as soya cake which is mostly called Awara in the north, soya oil, tofu, miso, soya milk, etc.

Awara is made by frying the coagulated milk extracted from the soya beans after grinding it. It is usually served with vegetable oil, grinded pepper. Nowadays, there is more garnishing to it. Sliced fresh pepper with cabbage and cucumber are added to it. In addition, it can be taken with Pap or Kunu

Awara contains a lot of health benefits such as high protein contents,vitamins, minerals, and insoluble fibers, which are important to our body. It also contains phytoestrogen chemicalsl found in plant foods. There are different types of phytoestrogens but the ones found in soyabean products are called Isofl avones.
On the other hand, some studies suggest that women with a soya-rich diet may have a lower risk of breast cancer and the infant will be healthy with the use of soya beans. it is advised that nursing mothers should take this local snack more often, as it will be of great benefit to them.