Moni

Ingredients

Porridge

• 250 gpearl millet flour, or fine millet meal
• 1.5 litreswater
• a pinch of salt

Souring

• 100 gtamarind pulp in 300 ml warm water

To finish

• sugar, to taste
• milk or evaporated milk
• a little ground ginger, optional

Optional

• a pinch of ground clove or nutmeg
• peanut paste

Directions

1. Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes, then work it hard with your fingers. Work the pulp with your hands rather than just stirring it, because most of the sourness is locked in the flesh around the seeds.
2. Strain the tamarind water and discard the seeds and fibres. Slake the millet flour in about 300 ml of cold water, whisking until completely smooth.
3. Bring the rest of the water to a boil with the salt. Pour the slaked millet into the boiling water in a steady stream, whisking constantly. Keep whisking as it goes in and for a minute afterwards, which is when lumps form if they are going to.
4. Turn the heat down and cook, stirring often, for 20 to 25 minutes. Give it the full twenty minutes. Add more hot water whenever it thickens past that point, because it keeps tightening as it cooks.
5. Add the tamarind at the end rather than at the start. Its acid interferes with the starch swelling properly if it goes in early.
6. Cook a further 5 minutes, then take it off the heat. Sweeten with sugar to taste, and add ginger or clove if you want them.
7. Serve hot in bowls with milk poured in, or let it cool and drink it cold. The balance should be gently sour first and sweet second, which is what makes moni refreshing rather than heavy.

Technique

• It is filling and cheap and is genuinely a meal rather than a drink.
• It thickens considerably as it stands and is loosened with water or milk.
• Some households ferment the millet batter overnight instead of using tamarind, which sours it differently.

Substitutions

• Tamarind paste or concentrate, using far less.
• Sorghum or fonio flour in place of millet.

Variations

• With peanut paste stirred through, which is common.
• Fermented overnight rather than soured with tamarind.
• Made thicker, as a spooned porridge.

History

A thin millet gruel soured with tamarind and eaten at dawn; it is the standard breakfast in farming households and at Ramadan suhoor.

Frequently asked questions

What is Moni?

Moni is a breakfast from Mali: pearled millet porridge with tamarind, sugar and milk. A thin millet gruel soured with tamarind and eaten at dawn; it is the standard breakfast in farming households and at Ramadan suhoor.

How long does Moni take to make?

Moni takes 10 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Moni?

Yes, within limits. Tamarind paste or concentrate, using far less. Sorghum or fonio flour in place of millet.

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

Soak the tamarind pulp in warm water for 15 minutes, then work it hard with your fingers. Work the pulp with your hands rather than just stirring it, because most of the sourness is locked in the flesh around the seeds.