Dakuwa

Ingredients

Mixture

• 500 groasted peanuts
• 200 gmillet flour
• 2 tbspground ginger
• 1 tbspground dried chilli
• 2 tbspsugar or honey
• 1 tspsalt
• 2 tspground cloves, optional

Directions

1. Toast the millet flour in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens a shade and smells nutty.
2. Grind the roasted peanuts to a coarse paste, then keep grinding until the oil begins to come out and the mass turns sticky and heavy.
3. That released oil is what binds the whole thing together. Dakuwa is traditionally made from the cake left after peanut oil has been pressed, and if your paste is too dry the balls will simply not hold.
4. Combine the peanut paste with the toasted millet flour, ginger, chilli, sugar and salt.
5. Pound or knead it hard for several minutes, until the mixture is uniform in colour and holds together when you squeeze a handful.
6. Press small handfuls very firmly into balls or thick discs.
7. Press harder than feels necessary. Dakuwa is dense and chewy rather than crumbly, and loosely formed balls fall to pieces in a bag.
8. Lay them out on a tray and leave them to dry and firm for a few hours.
9. Store in a sealed tin, where they keep for weeks, which is exactly why they were made this way as food for travelling.
10. Eat as a snack with water or tea.

Technique

• Ginger and chilli together are the signature. It is a sweet snack with a real bite to it rather than a plain peanut ball.
• Toast the millet properly. Untoasted it tastes raw and pasty and dulls everything else.
• If the mixture will not hold, work in a spoonful of groundnut oil rather than more sugar.

Substitutions

• Sorghum or maize flour in place of millet.
• Smooth peanut butter with the oil stirred in, if you cannot grind your own.

Variations

• Made without chilli, for children.
• Pressed flat into bars rather than rolled into balls.
• With extra cloves and a pinch of nutmeg.

History

Made from the peanut cake left after oil pressing and mixed with toasted millet flour; the balls keep for weeks and travel well.

Frequently asked questions

What is Dakuwa?

Dakuwa is a snack from Niger: balls of roasted peanut, millet and ginger, pressed hard and chewy. Made from the peanut cake left after oil pressing and mixed with toasted millet flour; the balls keep for weeks and travel well.

How long does Dakuwa take to make?

Dakuwa takes 30 min of preparation and 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 20 balls. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Dakuwa?

Yes, within limits. Sorghum or maize flour in place of millet. Smooth peanut butter with the oil stirred in, if you cannot grind your own.

What is the most important thing to get right in Dakuwa?

That released oil is what binds the whole thing together. Dakuwa is traditionally made from the cake left after peanut oil has been pressed, and if your paste is too dry the balls will simply not hold.