Spicy Millet Drink – Zomkom

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Today’s blog post is about how to prepare a common fermented millet drink at home and also how to preserve this millet drink.

This Spicy millet drink is popularly called Zomkom or Zomkoum. Zomkom is made up of two words – “Zom” which means flour and “Kom” which means water.

Suffice to say, Zomkom literally translates to mean “flour water”. This drink is widely enjoyed in many West African countries such as Ghana, Burkina faso and many more.

Here are some of the benefits of consuming millet which is the main ingredient of this recipe ;

Millets helps with weight loss – millets are a rich source of fibre which gives you the feeling of being full for longer periods of time. This in turn makes you less hungry.
Millets are high in antioxidants – millets have polyphenols in high quantity and this helps to remove harmful free radicals from our body.
Millets are great for gut health – millets contain a significant amount of soluble and insoluble fibre that regulates digestion process . It is a good alternative if you intend to go gluten-free.

As healthy as millets are, it is important to state that it must be consumed in moderation. This is because of the goitrogens present in millets.

Goitrogens are substances capable to suppressing thyroid activity which can lead to goitre. This is because it blocks the absorption of iodine which is very important for thyroid function.

After the brief explanation about millets above, I will be explaining how to make ZOMKOM starting with the ingredients.

Millet Drink Ingredients

850 grams Millet
4 tablespoons Cloves
5 Ginger
½ Sugar
4 tablespoons Black pepper
4 Chilli peppers
Evaporated milk (optional)
Ice cubes
Room temperature water

Spicy Millet Drink Preparation

Wash millets in clean water only multiple times.
Remove the millet chaff that floats on the water.
During each wash carefully move the millets into another bowl so as to be able to separate the stones or sand that may settle.
After multiple rinsing, when you are sure that there are no more stones or sand.
Soak rinsed millets for 8 or more hours – I usually soak mine overnight.
Take the millets out of the water used for soaking it.
Rinse millets in fresh clean water twice.
Blend the millets, ginger, cloves , black pepper and chilli pepper with room temperature water.
After blending get a big bowl and a sieve or cheese cloth.
Pour some of the fermented millet paste into the sieve.
Add some water and move your hands in circular motion to separate the chaff from the millet flour.
When the millet flour is properly separated from the chaff you will notice the chaff turn to greenish or greyish.
Dispose all the separated chaff
Mix the millet drink well with a spoon or spatula

This is important because millet flour settles fast.

Add lots of ice cubes
To sweeten it add some sugar and mix well so that the sugar doesn’t settle to the bottom.

SPICY MILLET DRINK – ZOMKOUM IS READY.

If you have sweet tooth and you are thinking of how to make millet drink taste good and creamy, all you need to do is to add more sugar and some evaporated milk or full cream milk.

Voila!!! Creamy Zomkom is ready for your sweet tooth.

You may also be wondering if this drink is healthy because it is uncooked. Yes millet can be eaten raw so you don’t have to worry.

Often times, when I make Zomkom I always have leftovers. So up next I will be writing on how you can preserve your leftover zomkom.

HOW TO PRESERVE ZOMKOM

Get bottles with cover
Wash the bottles properly and sterilize in hot water.
Drain the excess water from the bottles
Pour the leftover Zomkom into the sterilized bottles with a funnel – a funnel will make the process easier and less messy.

Make sure you don’t fill the bottles to the brim.

This is because Zomkom settles fast and you will have to shake the bottle to mix it well before drinking it. The remaining space in the bottle will make it easy for you to mix the drink well whenever you want to drink it.

Put Zomkoum bottles in the refrigerator or freeze to preserve it.

Please Note : It is better to use plastic bottles if you intend to freeze your leftover zomkom because glass bottles have the tendency break/explode when frozen.