Kunun zaki

Ingredients

Grain

• 500 gmillet
• or 500 g sorghum
• water, for soaking

Souring

• 3 tablespoonstamarind pulp
• soaked in warm water
• or the overnight fermentation alone

Spices

• 5cm fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoonblack peppercorns
• 10whole cloves
• a few grains of alligator pepper, optional

The drink

• about 2 litres water
• 150 gsugar, or to taste
• a pinch of salt

To serve

• chilled, in bottles or tumblers
• at iftar during Ramadan
• sold at markets

Directions

1. Keep it refrigerated once it is made. Discard it if it smells sharply sour. Discard it if it fizzes strongly. Use clean equipment throughout. Wash and rinse everything thoroughly.
2. Use clean water for soaking and blending. The raw part carries enzymes that thin it. Heat above a certain point destroys them. Cold sweet drinks are wanted at that moment. Rinse the millet thoroughly in cold water. Pick out any stones or loose chaff. Put it into a large clean bowl. Cover it with plenty of cold water. Leave it to soak there overnight. Warm rooms ferment it much faster.
3. Put the tamarind pulp in a small bowl. Cover it over with warm water. Let it soak for twenty minutes. Work it with your fingers to loosen it. Discard the fibres and any stones. Keep all the thick sour liquid. Drain the soaked millet thoroughly.
4. Rinse it once in fresh cold water. Both are done depending on preference. Put the drained grain into a blender. Add the ginger, cloves and peppercorns. Add the alligator pepper if using it. Add enough water to blend it smoothly. Blend it until it is completely smooth. Blend it longer than seems necessary. Divide the paste into two portions.
5. Make one about two thirds of the total. Keep the smaller third raw and aside. Put it in a pot with about a litre of water. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Stir it constantly as it heats.
6. Stir right into the corners each time. Cooking it takes a few minutes. Let it cook for about five minutes. It becomes a thick smooth paste. Take the pot right off the heat. Let it cool for a few minutes. Those enzymes are what thin the drink. Let it cool a little before combining. It should be hot but not boiling.
7. Stir it well as it visibly changes. If it does not thin, the mixture was too hot. Let it cool more the next time. Stir the strained tamarind liquid in. Add it gradually and taste as you go. Too much makes the drink harsh.
8. Add it in a spoonful at a time. Add the rest of the water gradually. Stir it in until it is thin enough. It should pour like thin cream. Pour it through a fine mesh sieve. Press it through with a spoon. Sweetening it is done to taste. Add the sugar and stir it well in. Add a good pinch of salt with it. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. It should be sweet and sour together.
9. Pour it out into clean bottles. Leave caps slightly loose or use plastic. Keep them refrigerated at all times. Serving it is always done cold. Stir or shake it well before pouring. Pour it out into tall tumblers. It keeps two days refrigerated. Discard it if it smells sharply sour.

Technique

• The atlas carries kunu zaki from Nigeria as well; this is the same drink under a spelling variant, since Hausa food culture crosses a border that cuts through a single region. The Niger version leans on tamarind for its sourness where the Nigerian one relies more on fermentation, but proportions vary by maker rather than by country.
• Two thirds of the ground grain is cooked to thicken the batch, then the raw third is stirred in off the boil; raw grain carries active amylase enzymes that break the thickened starch down and visibly loosen it to a pourable drink. If it does not thin, the mixture was too hot and the enzymes were destroyed, and there is no fixing that batch.
• This is a lightly fermented uncooked drink that spoils fast: keep it refrigerated, drink it within a day or two, use clean equipment throughout, and discard it if it smells sharply sour or fizzes strongly. Fermentation continues in the bottle, so leave caps loose or use plastic.

Substitutions

• Sorghum is used as often as millet.
• The overnight fermentation alone sours it where tamarind is unavailable.

Variations

• Kunu zaki in Nigeria is the same drink under another spelling.
• Alligator pepper is added by some makers and left out by others.
• Rinsing the soaked grain removes the sharpest sourness.

History

Millet is soaked, ground and left to sour overnight; the sweet-sour drink is sold in bottles at markets and used to break the Ramadan fast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kunun zaki?

Kunun zaki is a drink from Niger: lightly fermented millet drink spiced with ginger and tamarind, served cold. Millet is soaked, ground and left to sour overnight; the sweet-sour drink is sold in bottles at markets and used to break the Ramadan fast.

How long does Kunun zaki take to make?

Kunun zaki takes 30 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 3 litres. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Kunun zaki?

Yes, within limits. Sorghum is used as often as millet. The overnight fermentation alone sours it where tamarind is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Kunun zaki?

The atlas carries kunu zaki from Nigeria as well; this is the same drink under a spelling variant, since Hausa food culture crosses a border that cuts through a single region. The Niger version leans on tamarind for its sourness where the Nigerian one relies more on fermentation, but proportions vary by maker rather than by country.