Here's what happened to the grains

Back tracking to a previous post "Bag of Grains"- 8 August 2011.  Rather than cook these grains traditionally, the idea was to try something different, Even when raw, these grains have a lovely nuttiness. I wanted to enhance that but keep the recipes distinctly African- taking a look at what food-friends Nadia and Merijn from café Arabia-( see www.arabiacafe.nl) -have been doing with couscous and bulghur ( short of building a tower with the stuff, they’ve tried just about every variation) and I love how they combined the grains with lots of spices or fresh herbs and lemony flavours.. ok so hear goes-

First I toasted my grains and set off to work-

Fonio pilav

3 tablespoons oil

250 g white fonio

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced

1 cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

750 ml vegetable stock

1 large ripe tomato, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

Method: Heat a large frying pan and toast the fonio, for about the minutes. A nutty aroma will rise fro the pan. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent burning. Remove from the pan. Toast the coriander and cumin seeds in the same pan. Grind the spices coarsely in a pestle and mortar. Heat the oil in the pan and soften the onion and carrot.  Add the garlic, ginger and spices and cook for a further 3 minutes. Add the fonio and fry for 2 more minutes. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Cook for about 30 minutes until done. Add more water if the fonio becomes too dry.  Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped tomato and spring onion.

Serves 4

Sweet millet couscous with mango

Somali Cuisine by Barlin Ali, is a very unusual cookbook.  In it there is a dessert recipe called Adriyad, from Nothern Solmalia spiced sweet angelhair pasta eaten with rice!

I’ve used it as inspiration for this millet recipe.

30 g butter

125 g toasted almonds, chopped

125 g golden raisins

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

125 g millet couscous (couscous de mil)

2 tablespoons of sugar

a pinch of salt

2 tablespoons honey

grated rind of 1 orange

a few drops of orange flower water

½ lemon

1 large ripe mango, peeled and sliced

Melt the butter in a pan and the nuts, raisins and spices and couscous and toast for a few minutes until the mixture releases a nutty aroma. Add 400 ml hot water, salt and sugar and bring to the boil. Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to swell. Loosen the grains with a fork, drizzle over some honey and mix in the orange rind and flower water. Season to taste with a few drops of lemon juice. Leave to cool to room temperature and serve with slices of ripe mango.
Serves 4.