Ingredients
Porridge
- 400 gmaize meal
- 3 litreswater
The converter
- 100 gdried munkoyo roots, scraped and pounded
- or 3 tbsp munkoyo root powder
Optional
- sugar, to taste
To serve
- chilled, in cups
Directions
- Use roots identified and sold as munkoyo by someone who knows them, and do not substitute an unfamiliar root.
- Wash the roots, scrape off the bark, and pound or grate the inner root into a fibrous pulp. Slake the maize meal in cold water, then stir it into the rest of the boiling water.
- Cook the porridge, stirring, for 20 to 30 minutes until the raw starch taste has gone.
- Cook the maize thoroughly. The temperature matters in both directions: too hot destroys the enzymes outright, and too cold and they work far too slowly. Stir the pounded root pulp through the warm porridge.
- Cover it and leave it somewhere warm for 12 to 24 hours. You will taste it turn sweet over the first several hours as the starch converts, and then turn tart as wild lactic bacteria take over.
- Taste from about 12 hours and stop when it is sweet with a clean tart edge, before it goes sharply sour.
- Strain out the root fibres through a cloth, pressing to get all the liquid. Sweeten a little with sugar if you want, though a well-converted batch needs none. Chill it hard and drink it cold, shaking or stirring first because the maize settles quickly.
Technique
- Munkoyo root is sold dried in Zambian and Congolese markets and increasingly in powder form.
- It keeps two or three days refrigerated and keeps souring slowly.
- Left much longer it ferments further and becomes noticeably alcoholic, which is a different drink.
Substitutions
- Munkoyo root powder, which is sold ready-prepared.
- Sorghum or millet meal in place of maize.
Variations
- Chibwantu, the closely related Zambian version.
- Made thicker, closer to a gruel.
- Sweetened with sugar for a milder drink.
History
A Katangan and Zambian beverage in which roots of the munkoyo shrub convert maize starch to sugar, giving a tart low-alcohol drink.
Frequently asked questions
What is Munkoyo?
Munkoyo is a drink from DR Congo: lightly fermented maize drink soured with sweet munkoyo roots. A Katangan and Zambian beverage in which roots of the munkoyo shrub convert maize starch to sugar, giving a tart low-alcohol drink.
How long does Munkoyo take to make?
Munkoyo takes 30 min plus 24 hr fermenting of preparation and 40 min of cooking. The recipe makes about 3 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Munkoyo?
Yes, within limits. Munkoyo root powder, which is sold ready-prepared. Sorghum or millet meal in place of maize.
What is the most important thing to get right in Munkoyo?
Use roots identified and sold as munkoyo by someone who knows them, and do not substitute an unfamiliar root.
