Akple is made from a fermented blend of corn and cassava dough, giving it a faint sourness that plain corn swallows like banku don't have.
Corn flour and cassava dough are mixed with water and cooked down, then beaten smooth into a stretchy, slightly sour ball. It's eaten by hand, classically dipped into fetri detsi, a slippery Ewe okra soup, or into a simple hot pepper sauce.
Why it's made this way: Akple is the Ewe answer to fufu and banku, a daily staple across the Volta Region built on the corn-and-cassava combination that grows well in the area, appearing at everything from weekday lunches to funerals.