Ingredients
Malt (kimea)
- 150 gfinger millet or sorghum grain
- water, for soaking
Gruel
- 300 gmaize flour
- 2 litreswater
Optional
- 4 tbsptogwa from a previous batch, as starter
- sugar, to taste
Directions
- Make the malt first. Soak the millet overnight, drain, and keep it damp under a cloth for two days until each grain has sprouted a shoot about as long as the grain itself.
- Dry the sprouted grain in the sun and grind it to flour. This is kimea, and it is the engine of the whole drink: the sprouting develops amylase enzymes that break the maize starch into sugar, and without it you have porridge that never sours properly.
- Whisk the maize flour into the cold water, then bring it to a boil, stirring constantly, and cook 15 minutes to a thin smooth gruel.
- Cool it to about 50°C (122°F). This is the step people get wrong — added to boiling gruel the malt enzymes are destroyed instantly and the batch fails.
- Stir in the malt flour and hold it at that warmth for an hour. It will visibly thin and turn sweet as the starch converts.
- Cool to room temperature, add the starter if using, cover with a cloth and leave 12 to 24 hours in a warm place.
- It is ready when it tastes sweet-sour and slightly fizzy. Taste from 12 hours; in real heat it can be ready sooner and turns sharply acidic if left.
- Drink it cool and unfiltered, stirred first. It is given to children and to farm workers, and it is studied precisely because its lactic acid bacteria suppress the organisms that cause childhood diarrhoea.
Technique
- Cool the gruel to 50°C (122°F) before the malt goes in.
- Taste from 12 hours. The window between sweet-sour and vinegary is short in the heat.
- Stir before pouring. It settles hard.
Substitutions
- Bought malted sorghum or millet flour, sold as kimea in East African shops.
- Cassava or millet flour for the maize.
- Skipping the starter, which works but takes longer and is less predictable.
Variations
- Left several days it goes properly alcoholic and becomes a light beer.
- The Kenyan uji and Zambian munkoyo are close relatives.
History
Fermented for a day with malted flour, it is given to children and farm workers and studied for its lactic bacteria.
Frequently asked questions
What is Togwa?
Togwa is a fermented & pickled from Tanzania: lightly soured maize or millet gruel, drunk cool and unfiltered. Fermented for a day with malted flour, it is given to children and farm workers and studied for its lactic bacteria.
How long does Togwa take to make?
Togwa takes 30 min plus 1 to 2 days for the malt and 12 hours fermenting of preparation and 25 min of cooking. The recipe makes makes 2 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Togwa?
Yes, within limits. Bought malted sorghum or millet flour, sold as kimea in East African shops. Cassava or millet flour for the maize. Skipping the starter, which works but takes longer and is less predictable.
What is the most important thing to get right in Togwa?
Dry the sprouted grain in the sun and grind it to flour. This is kimea, and it is the engine of the whole drink: the sprouting develops amylase enzymes that break the maize starch into sugar, and without it you have porridge that never sours properly.
