A first-time taster’s guide to ‘Dan Wake’

Dan Wake is a delicacy in northern Nigeria. Against the general belief that it is an all beans-based meal as the name implies, it is now commonly flour-based. Weekly Trust visited at a Dan Wake seller, Maimuna Mahmuda aka Mama Aisha, who is taking the otherwise street meal, to the next level by making it […]

Dan Wake is a delicacy in northern Nigeria. Against the general belief that it is an all beans-based meal as the name implies, it is now commonly flour-based. Weekly Trust visited at a Dan Wake seller, Maimuna Mahmuda aka Mama Aisha, who is taking the otherwise street meal, to the next level by making it mainstream.
Before Mama Aisha arrives at the market, customers have already made down payments for her Dan Wake because they want to ensure they get a portion of it before it is sold out.
The Gwammaja, Kano State-born woman while responding to the greetings and notifications of pre-orders, sets about organising her space, setting firewood, pots and bowls in place as she gives instructions to her assistant to make orders for a bag of flour to be brought before putting water over the fire to boil.   
She received her training three years ago, when she came to live with her elder sister in Dakibiyu in Jabi District of Abuja. Mama Aisha diligently understudied her sister preparatory to setting her own business.
“I learned how to make dan wake from her while I assisted her back then. She took ill and had to stop the business. I therefore decided to start my own in Utako Market and did so with just N1, 500 and two mudus (measures) of flour,” the mother of one said, adding that she now makes between 28-30 measures daily.
A typical day for her begins from 11 am and ends at 5 in the evening: “I keep all my work tools and ingredients here in the market, so that I don’t bring anything with me from home.”
Explaining the process of making the delicacy, Mahmuda said: “The Dan Wake I sell is made from flour, potash and moringa. I put the potash in water and let it dissolve. Then in a big 25 to 30 litres bowl I put the flour, dissolved potash and moringa and mix thoroughly until I get a consistency that isn’t too thick or watery.”
Using a ludayi (a kind of soup spoon), Mama Aisha in quick succession showing her mastery of the art, scoops the batter in level portions into the boiling water.
She attributes the level of patronage she enjoys to the quality of her dan wake: “Honestly, the reason people patronise me is because I offer the best.”
She adds that: “I am not being boastful. I make sure I put enough Dan Wake  and price it as low as possible so that my customers are satisfied. I also put enough vegetable oil and yaji (pepper) to make it tasty.”
Mahmuda consciously or otherwise has ensured she is the only force to reckon with in the area when it comes to Dan Wake . No one else has been able to thrive in the business since she started and they have all had to leave.
“There was a time another woman came here and started the same business as mine but she wasn’t getting customers, they all patronised me probably because they were used to eating mine or for reasons best known to them,” she explains.
“She stayed for a while but still nothing changed because on several occasions she had to go back home with her Dan Wake. She finally decided to quit the business. So I am the only one doing in this area now,” Mama Aisha adds.
With word of mouth being her most efficient advert tool, Mahmuda’s business has extended beyond Utako Market as she is now being patronised by people in the corporate world. This has forced her to take it a notch higher.
“I thought of the idea of take-away because of people who started patronising me from places far from my business area. Since I couldn’t deliver it in a plate covered with polythene bag as I do for those in the market, I thought it would be more appropriate to buy those disposable packs for delivery,” she says. Mahmuda has already employed someone who assists her make deliveries to offices and people inside the market, especially if they can’t come themselves.
“People also call him to make orders, which he lets me know about,” she informed.
She says her profit margin isn’t very significant yet: “When I remove money for ingredients that I buy usually after every three days and also my upkeep money, I am usually left with little amount.”
Mahmuda emphasised that: “I am not after huge profit as long as I sell for the day and I earn something, I am content just the way I am.”
 However, Mama Aisha says she is contented with what she gets: “When business is good I make up to N12, 000 but on a normal day I make around N9, 000 to N10, 000.”
With a background like hers, Mahmuda is quite focused and set on achieving her goals. She explains why she started the business and what she does with the proceeds thus: “Why should I wait for my husband to do everything? I assist my parents; they are in Kano. So I save up something and send down to them. I also take care of my personal needs. I have money to take care of my daughter and myself.”
She certainly has big plans for her business, as she hopes “to move to a plaza or office where I can get more customers. I would love to expand my business but right now I am not financially stable to do that.”
Sharing her thoughts on women who idle away she said: “Trust me, frustration will kill them. There is no way a healthy woman would just sit and wait for her man to provide everything for her. Women should do something for themselves no matter how small that business is; even if it is selling pure water. It is actually better than staying idle.”  
With her husband running a shop where he sells used mattresses and television sets, Mama Aisha said juggling business and the home-front is not a big deal.
“When I am out for business, I usually put a diaper on my daughter and I back her. Sometimes people help me carry her and they would be gone for hours. I got a teenage girl who was helping me take care of my daughter while I work but she left not long ago,” she explains.
Hygiene is usually a contention with food in public places. To ensure she maintains high standards, Mahmuda said: “I make sure I sweep the place where I cook after I am done for the day and also wash the dishes. In the morning when I come, I sweep the place again and also wash my working tools.”
Feeling very much in-charge and independent, Mahmuda said she can’t work under anyone: “I like it the way I am now because I am my own boss. If I were to work in a canteen and head the business, I will gladly accept that. But if I am to work under someone, then I won’t.”
With all businesses having their unique challenges, she identifies hers as the fact that some people patronise her on credit, without fulfilling their promises to pay afterwards. Another challenge is that when she is overwhelmed by customers, some take advantage of the confusion and claim that they have paid when they clearly haven’t and she sometimes even gives them change.
Sule Gogori, a shop owner who has patronised Mama Aisha for over a year, described her Dan Wake  as the best and that he would continue to eat it as long as she is still in the business.
Sitting on a bench one foot away, Ibrahim Lawali, a petty trader whom Mama Aisha says is  her son, patiently waits for his daily free Dan Wake portion while making small talk, yet not taking his eyes off the boiling pot.