Ingredients
Grain and nuts
- 300 gmillet
- or 300 g sorghum
- 200 graw groundnuts
- peanuts, skinned
- water, for soaking
To blend
- 3cm fresh ginger
- about 2 litres water
- a pinch of salt
To sweeten
- 150 gsugar
- or to taste
- or honey
Sometimes added
- a little evaporated milk
- a pinch of nutmeg
- a few cloves
To serve
- warm in bowls
- or chilled in tumblers
- at breakfast
Directions
- Discard any nuts that are shrivelled or discoloured. Discard any that smell musty or taste bitter. It also makes it keep a little better. Rinse the millet thoroughly in cold water. Pick out any stones or loose chaff. Put it all into a large clean bowl.
- Add the groundnuts to the same bowl. Cover them well with plenty of cold water. Leave them both to soak overnight. Six to eight hours is usually enough. Drain the soaked millet and nuts. Rinse them once in fresh cold water. Drain them all thoroughly again. Put the drained millet and nuts in a blender. Add the fresh ginger in with them. Add enough water to blend smoothly.
- Blend it for several full minutes. Groundnuts take a long time to break down. Blend it far longer than seems necessary. Work in batches if your blender is small. Judging the blend takes a look.
- Line a sieve with muslin or a clean cloth. Pour the blended mixture into it. Let all the liquid run through it. Twist it and squeeze it very hard. Keep squeezing until no more comes out.
- Put your whole weight into it. Return the pulp to the blender. Add a little more water to it. Blend it again briefly afterwards. Strain and squeeze it a second time. Pour the strained liquid into a heavy pot. Bring it up slowly over a medium heat. Stir it constantly as it heats. Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point.
- Bring it to a bare simmer only. Give it about ten minutes at that heat. Add hot water if it thickens too far. What looks right hot will be stiff cold. Leave it looser than you want it. Sweetening it is done off the heat. Take the pot right off the heat. Stir in the sugar until it dissolves.
- Add a good pinch of salt with it. Taste it and adjust the sweetness. It is not enough to taste salty. Stir a little evaporated milk in. Serving it warm is the usual way. Ladle it into bowls while still warm. Serving it cold is the other way. Let it cool and refrigerate it. Serve it chilled in tall tumblers. Stir it well before every pour. It keeps two days refrigerated.
Technique
- This is the mildest of the kunu drinks, unfermented and cooked all the way through rather than left partly raw like kunun zaki, which makes it thicker and much milder; millet gives carbohydrate and groundnuts add considerable protein and fat, which is why it is given to children and to people recovering from illness.
- Groundnuts can carry aflatoxin, a toxin produced by moulds growing on nuts stored damp or warm and linked to liver damage and liver cancer, which roasting does not destroy; buy from a source you trust and discard any that are shrivelled, discoloured, musty smelling or bitter. Peanut allergy is common and severe, and this drink is substantially peanut, so say clearly what is in it.
- A great deal of liquid stays in the pulp, so gather the straining cloth, twist it and squeeze hard, then blend the pulp again with a little water and strain a second time; a gentle strain wastes about a third of the drink.
Substitutions
- Sorghum stands in for millet and gives a slightly darker drink.
- Roasted peanuts make a different version tasting more strongly of roast nut.
Variations
- A little evaporated milk is stirred in for the version given to children.
- Nutmeg or cloves are added in some households.
- It is drunk warm at breakfast or chilled through the day.
History
A Hausa breakfast gruel of soaked millet and ground peanuts, often given to children and to the sick.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kunun gyada?
Kunun gyada is a drink from Niger: creamy millet and groundnut drink, thin enough to drink from a bowl. A Hausa breakfast gruel of soaked millet and ground peanuts, often given to children and to the sick.
How long does Kunun gyada take to make?
Kunun gyada takes 20 minutes plus soaking of preparation and 25 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes about 2 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Kunun gyada?
Yes, within limits. Sorghum stands in for millet and gives a slightly darker drink. Roasted peanuts make a different version tasting more strongly of roast nut.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kunun gyada?
Put your whole weight into it. Return the pulp to the blender. Add a little more water to it. Blend it again briefly afterwards. Strain and squeeze it a second time. Pour the strained liquid into a heavy pot. Bring it up slowly over a medium heat. Stir it constantly as it heats. Stir right into the corners each time. Do not stop stirring at any point.
