Nigeria
Kunun Kanwa (Nigerian Grain Porridge)
A smooth Nigerian grain porridge made with guinea-corn flour, ginger, a measured amount of edible potash, and optional sugar or honey.
Kunun kanwa is a northern Nigerian breakfast porridge made from fermented millet or maize that sits thick enough to hold a spoon upright, and it is often the first thing eaten at home in the morning. A little potash or similar alkaline goes in to speed up fermentation and give the colour, and the taste is gentle rather than sweet. Stirring it while it cooks matters more than any other step, because the paste catches fast at the bottom.
Ingredients
- Guinea-corn flour, or millet, sorghum, or maize flour1 cup
- Food-grade potash (kanwa)0.5 teaspoon
- Fresh ginger, peeled and grated1
- Water4.5 cups
- Sugar or honey (optional)1.5 tablespoons
Directions
- 1
Mix the grain flour with a small portion of the measured water until smooth and free of lumps.
- 2
In a separate pot, dissolve no more than 1/2 teaspoon food-grade potash in some of the remaining water and bring to a gentle boil.
- 3
Gradually pour the boiling potash water into the grain paste while stirring continuously.
- 4
Continue stirring until the mixture thickens slightly to a smooth, pourable porridge consistency.
- 5
Simmer for 2–3 minutes. Add measured water a little at a time only if the porridge is too thick.
- 6
Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar or honey, if using.
- 7
Serve hot.
Source: Wikibooks Cookbook (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0; English normalized and Chinese translation added by WorldBite.