There are unique names for millet in Nigeria. Different Nigerian tribes have unique name for this grain which includes; yara, dawa, zwuk in kagoro language from Southern Kaduna.
In Tiv language it is called anime or agasi, some call it yadiri, kpayi, hatsi, and many more.
Millet is a grain which is known to be gluten free as well as rich in fibre, antioxidants and protein.
Many Nigerians know millet as the main ingredient in making traditional drinks and pudding such as Akamu and Kunun Zaki – Millet Drink . However, there is much more to the use of millets in the daily diet of an average Nigerian.
Nigerians eat different types of swallows with their preferred soup choice for dinner. This is because it is generally believed that eating swallow at night will keep one full longer till the next day when it is time for breakfast.
Nowadays, many Nigerians still have this belief but many people are embracing the fibre rich diet and using it as a replacement for the high carbohydrate combinations of swallows such as the below listed.
- Eba – Garri
- Fufu
- White Amala – Lafun
- Pounded cocoyam
- Semo
- Tuwo shinkafa
- Pounded yam
Here are some fibre rich Nigerian swallows that you may want to incorporate into your diet.
- Wheat swallow with whole wheat flour
- Sorghum swallow
- Amala with Plantain flour – Elubo Ogede
- Millet Swallow
As I continue, I will list the ingredients for millet swallow and the process to explain the step-by-step process of how to prepare millet swallow with the ingredients listed below.
Ingredients for millet swallow
The ingredients for millet swallow are as follows;
- millet grains
- water
Now I will proceed to explain how these two ingredients above can be easily turned to millet swallow.
How to prepare millet swallow
- Blend the millet grains to powder form
- After blending lightly feel the powder between your thumb and finger to ascertain the smoothness of the powder
- Sieve the flour to remove the particles if present.
- Put 1 cup of millet flour into a bowl
- Mix the flour with water till it turns of a smooth watery paste
- Set the paste aside to be used later
- Adjust your cooker to high heat
- Place your pot on the cooker and add 2-3 cups of water or more –depending on the quantity of swallow you want to prepare.
- Cover the pot and let the water boil
- Turn the cooker down to low
- Start by pouring the millet paste into the hot water and mix immediately
- It is important to mix instantly so that lumps won’t form
- Mix well until the paste appears cooked
- Then proceed to add more millet flour while mixing at the same time
- Add more flour till the mixture thicken well to swallow texture
- Get about 1/2 cup of water
- Lightly lift the swallow by the sides and pour water little add in every side
- Cover the pot and allow the swallow to cook on low heat for 2-3 minutes
- After 2 minutes, mix the swallow well
- Millet swallow is ready.
Soups for millet swallow
You can serve this swallow with any soup of your choice. But I will suggest you try some of these soups.
As for me, I love to eat my millet swallow with chicken stew and okro.
Sometimes, I like to cook earlier than when I actually intend to eat and here is how I keep my swallow fresh.
How to make swallow presentable.
To make swallow presentable and also to keep it fresh, I use cling film or leaves to wrap them into small quantities and here is how I do it.
- Get a small bowl
- Roll out some cling film
- Place the cling film on the bowl
- Scoop your desired portion of swallow onto the cling film
- Cut the film and wrap around the swallow.
This will keep it fresh and presentable till you are ready to eat it. The picture below is what your wrapped swallow should look like.
Now, I have come to the end of this recipe and I would like to thank you for visiting this blog. I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post.
Would you be trying this recipe? Come along as to my YouTube channel to watch the video of this recipe.
The Online Cook ©2024
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