Fari masa

Ingredients

Batter

• 500 gshort grain rice
• water, for soaking
• 100 gcooked rice
• 1 teaspoondried yeast
• or a spoonful of a previous batter
• 2 tablespoonssugar
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• about 300 ml warm water

To cook

• oil, for the pan
• a dimpled iron pan
• or a small heavy frying pan

To serve

• yaji or pepper sauce
• or sugar
• or honey
• hot tea

Directions

1. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Cover it with plenty of cold water. Leave it to soak for at least four hours. Drain it well before grinding. Put the soaked rice in a blender. Add the cooked rice to it as well. That cooked rice helps bind the batter.
2. Add the water a little at a time. Blend it into a smooth thick batter. Give it a good three full minutes. Add water sparingly, since it thins fast. Fermenting it takes overnight.
3. Stir the yeast and sugar into the batter. Cover the bowl over with a cloth. Leave it somewhere warm overnight. Give it eight to twelve hours. Stir the fermented batter down gently. Add the salt now rather than earlier. Salt slows the yeast considerably. Check the consistency once more.
4. Add warm water if it has thickened overnight. It should pour thickly from a ladle. Heat the dimpled pan over a medium heat. Brush each dimple with a little oil. The pan should be hot but not smoking.
5. Pour batter into each of the dimples. Fill them about three quarters full. Give them about three minutes. Use a skewer or a wooden chopstick. Flip it over within the dimple. Give it another three minutes.
6. Break one open from the first batch. It should be light and airy inside. Heat a small heavy pan with a little oil. Pour in small rounds of batter.
7. Cook them like small pancakes. Serving them is done piping hot. Pile them into a bowl or a basket. Serve yaji alongside for the savoury version. Hot tea is the usual drink with them.

Technique

• Masa means a cake in Hausa and fari means white, so fari masa is white masa, named for the pale rice batter.
• The overnight fermentation gives both the slight sourness and the lift, and an unfermented batter gives a flat dense cake.
• The traditional dimpled iron pan works on the same principle as a takoyaki or aebleskiver pan, and gives the cakes their rounded shape.

Substitutions

• A small heavy frying pan works in place of a dimpled pan, giving flatter wider cakes.
• A spoonful of a previous batter works as a starter in place of dried yeast.

Variations

• Some stalls serve them savoury with yaji and others sweet with sugar.
• Masa made with maize or millet is prepared the same way.
• The same cakes are called masa across northern Nigeria.

History

Cooked in dimpled iron pans at morning stalls, the batter left to ferment overnight for its sour lift.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fari masa?

Fari masa is a street food from Niger: small fried cakes of fermented rice batter, eaten with pepper sauce or sugar. Cooked in dimpled iron pans at morning stalls, the batter left to ferment overnight for its sour lift.

How long does Fari masa take to make?

Fari masa takes 30 minutes plus overnight fermenting of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 24 small cakes. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Fari masa?

Yes, within limits. A small heavy frying pan works in place of a dimpled pan, giving flatter wider cakes. A spoonful of a previous batter works as a starter in place of dried yeast.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fari masa?

Stir the yeast and sugar into the batter. Cover the bowl over with a cloth. Leave it somewhere warm overnight. Give it eight to twelve hours. Stir the fermented batter down gently. Add the salt now rather than earlier. Salt slows the yeast considerably. Check the consistency once more.