Brukina

Ingredients

Millet

• 300 gmillet flour, or whole millet, milled
• about 100 ml water

Milk mixture

• 1 litremilk, fresh or reconstituted
• or 500 ml milk and 500 ml water
• 150 gsugar, or to taste
• 1 tspvanilla
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes

• grated nutmeg
• a little condensed milk

To serve

• very cold, from a sachet or a bottle

Directions

1. Add the water in sprinkles rather than pouring it, and rub constantly with your fingertips. If it clumps into a paste it will steam into a solid mass rather than separate grains. Discard or re-rub anything that will not pass through. Now steaming them, which is done in stages.
2. Steam the crumbs over boiling water for fifteen minutes. Now take them out, break up any clumps with a fork, sprinkle over a little more water, and steam again for ten to fifteen minutes.
3. Spread the steamed grains out and let them cool completely. They must be entirely cold before the milk goes on, since warm grains would sour the milk quickly.
4. Whisk the milk with sugar, vanilla and a pinch of salt until the sugar has dissolved. Dissolve the sugar in a little warm milk first, since it will not dissolve in a cold liquid.
5. Stir the cooled grains into the cold milk. The proportion is a matter of taste, and it should be thick with grains rather than a milk drink with a few in it.
6. Use pasteurised milk, keep everything scrupulously clean, and discard it if it smells sour. Now serving it out while very cold. Stir it well before pouring, since the grains settle to the bottom.
7. Serve it very cold, in a glass or in the sealed sachets it is traditionally sold in. It thickens on standing as the grains absorb, so loosen it with cold milk.

Technique

• It is named after Burkina Faso, where the drink originates.
• The millet is steamed into separate grains that stay suspended.
• It is a milk drink and spoils quickly, so keep it cold.

Substitutions

• Couscous at a pinch, which gives a similar texture.
• Evaporated milk diluted with water.

Variations

• With condensed milk, which is sweeter.
• Dèguè, the thicker Burkinabè version with curdled milk.
• With nutmeg grated over.

History

Named for Burkina Faso, where Sahelian herders make the millet-and-milk drink; Burkinabè migrants sold it in Accra until Ghanaians adopted it wholesale.

Frequently asked questions

What is Brukina?

Brukina is a drink from Ghana: millet grains suspended in sweetened milk, drunk from a sachet. Named for Burkina Faso, where Sahelian herders make the millet-and-milk drink; Burkinabè migrants sold it in Accra until Ghanaians adopted it wholesale.

How long does Brukina take to make?

Brukina takes 30 min plus soaking of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 glasses. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Brukina?

Yes, within limits. Couscous at a pinch, which gives a similar texture. Evaporated milk diluted with water.

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

Add the water in sprinkles rather than pouring it, and rub constantly with your fingertips. If it clumps into a paste it will steam into a solid mass rather than separate grains. Discard or re-rub anything that will not pass through. Now steaming them, which is done in stages.