FURA (THE ALKALINE AFRICAN SMOOTHIE)

' Fura tor , va afiee' (I'm sure the Ewe purist will frown upon my spellings,(meaning Fura seller , come over).  'Ewe' pronounced 'Erh-were', is the the name of my tribe and language. I'll make time to learn how to write in Ewe (personal challenge). 

My mum was kind enough to send some millet my way, hence the idea to make Fura and Hausa Koko, became a necessity. I'll update my blog with the Hausa Koko recipe. Recipes like these are not readily available in Ghana, as they're sold already cooked. I have recreated this recipe by memory of my taste buds, (when I last had Fura, over 15 yrs ago). 

You should see my excitement when I got the flavours right. I noticed as I omitted the Soya beans, the  Fura had a dark grey and brownish colour, however the flavours are 'on point.' My hairdresser, Hajia Fulera  (who is from the Northern part of Ghana gave me the thumbs of approval for the recipe, after she tasted it. Whoop whoop!

Most snack hawkers in Ghana,  roam for miles to sell their wares, hence wanting Fura, boiled nuts, bofrot (doughnuts), etc could take longer than you anticipate. One could potentially wait for hours and days for their favourite snack , hence when you see one, you scream to get their attention. 

Fura

'Fura' (a traditional dish from the Northern part of Ghana) is made out of milled millet and spices.

Millet is alkaline which means it's easy to digest.  It hydrates your colon, it's gluten free, helps lower and  maintain a good cholesterol level (Vitamin B3) , a good source of protein to mention but a few. 

I've omitted the Soy beans as there wasn't any readily available in my larder.  

Guinea Peppers

Millets prebiotic properties, helps with my sensitive stomach as it's easily digestible. I'll call this recipe the 'Alkaline African Smoothie'.

This is my favourite recipe, as all the ingredients help promote a good digestive system. 

Millet

Ingredients;

250g of milled Millet

(If you don't have milled millet, soak your millet overnight or for a quicker version in lukewarm water for an hour.)

10g of Guinea peppers

Half a teaspoon of chilli powder 

1 tablespoon of Ginger powder

5 cloves

3g of black peppercorns. 

60ml of cold water

Salt to taste

To serve

800ml of live Yoghurt (readily available in most grocers or supermarkets)

12g of Sugar

200ml of semi skimmed milk

Method: 

Toast the Guinea peppers, cloves and black peppercorns in a saucepan for about 2 minutes or (until you can smell the peppers). 

Tip;

Toasting spices generally helps release their oils and flavours. 

Blend the peppers and cloves  to a powder form. 

Un-milled Millet

If you're using un-milled 

millet, blend the spices with the millet to a smooth paste. Transfer the paste  to a bowl and mix with 50ml of water. Proceed to cook the paste, with your preferred option. 

Milled Millet

Add the milled Millet, Ginger powder, Salt, Chilli powder and mix everything together. 

Now add the water and mold into a smooth ball. Cover the dough with a cling film and leave in a warm place to ferment overnight. 

There are 2 ways of making 'Fura'

Option 1 (traditional method)

Place a saucepan with 800ml of water on a medium heat. 

Roll the dough into 6 equal balls and add them to the water. Boil for 20 minutes and take the dumplings out of the boiling water. 

Using a pestle and mortar, grind each ball till you have a smooth paste and roll it  into a ball again. Repeat this process for the rest of the dumplings. Dust the dumplings with corn or millet flour and refrigerate. It keeps well for 5 days. 

Option 2 (Quick & Efficient)

Once the dough has fermented overnight, mix it with 150ml of water to a smooth consistency.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and place  on a medium heat. 

Keep stirring  (to avoid any lumps) into a thick paste. It will turn into a thick paste, within 3 minutes of stirring. Decrease the heat to the lowest setting and steam the dough for about 7-10 minutes.  Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave to cool down.  Once the temperature has cooled down (easy to touch) roll into 6 individual balls. 

Dust with some millet or corn flour and refrigerate. Best eaten within 5 days of preparation. 

To serve;

Add a ball of Fura, 200ml of Yoghurt with 50ml of semi skimmed milk to a blender. 

Add 1 tablespoon of Sugar or sweetener 

Blend to a silky textured smoothie. 

Best served chilled. 

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. Try the recipe, leave a comment, share with your friends and don't forget to subscribe. 

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