Acha “Fonio” pudding

Hey friends! Today i want to share with you my newest early morning cereal. Since it was introduced to me by my very good friend makuo (Hi siraj :D), i just can’t seem to get enough of it. It has a nutty flavor and tastes very much like ground oats. I am still making variations of this meal as sometimes i add groundnuts, raisins or cashew nuts to it alongside milk.
Acha a.k.a Fonio is a type of millet like grain which is similar to couscous and quinoa in both texture and appearance. It is grown in West Africa especially in the northern part of the country where it’s locally referred to as “Hungry Rice”and is usually prepared in form of salad, stew, porridge (just like tapioca a.k.a kpokpo garri) or even ground into flour for bread. Acha is highly rich in amino acids and iron which makes it very nutritious for everyone including pregnant women and children. It’s gluten-free and nutritious because it contains two amino acids, cystine and methionine, which makes it a favorite to be baked into bread for diabetics, those who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease. If you haven’t heard of acha, you should try including it in your diet. Here’s how it’s prepared.


How to make Acha “Fonio” pudding
• Prep Time:  10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Misc:           Serve hot

Ingredients:::

• 1 Cup Acha “Fonio”

• A Pinch of Salt

• 6 Cups Water (or more)

• 4 tbsp. Granulated sugar (or as desired) 

• Milk (as desired) 

• Raisins (as desired) – Optional 

• Cashew nuts (as desired) – Optional 

• Groundnuts (as desired) – Optional

Directions:::

Step 1: Acha grains are very small in size and they tend to have few sand particles. This has to be removed before cooking. To do this, simply place the Acha in a bowl and add water to it. Wash and sieve out the dirt. Repeat the washing and sieving process till the water becomes clean and all the sand particles have been removed. 

Step 2: You’d notice i used 1 cup of Acha for this. Acha tends to swell and absorb liquid when cooking therefore it’s advisable not to get tempted to cook a lot of Acha as you might end up with a full pot of pudding which you wouldn’t be able to finish. 

Place the washed grains in a medium sized pot and add about 6 cups of water to it. Leave to cook on medium heat while stirring continuously at the early stage of cooking to prevent lumps from forming. You want the grains to lose their grittiness and become fluffy and soft. The pudding will also be somewhat thick. 

Step 3: Turn off the burner and add the sugar and milk. For a fancier spin, you could also add raisins, cashew nuts or groundnuts.

Step 4: Serve the pudding immediately it is ready while hot as it tends to solidify after sitting at room temperature for a while. It can be served with akara, plantain, moi moi or even bread

Note: Acha tends to solidify after sitting at room temperature for a while. 

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