Populous Hausa Dishes And Recipes
Hausa foods are easy to prepare and do not consume much time. And they are very nutritious. Each tribe in Nigeria is known for its food and unique way of preparing them. Am going to share the commonest Hausa Dishes and Recipes in this post.
One can easily identify Hausa cuisine along with other ethnic groups in Africa Igbo and Yoruba dishes.
It may be the same ingredients but the method of preparation is what separates them.
Hausa Foods
Hausa people have various types of food prepared in a variety of ways.
The most common include rice, corn or sorghum, which are often made into flour to prepare a dish known as Tuwo, which can be eaten with any type of soup such as Taushe, Dage-dage, and Kuka (Dried Baobab leaf ) among others.
Bean cakes also known as Kosai or Akara are common among Hausa people.
They have a delicacy of roasted beef like Kilishi, Suya (i.e. Balangu And Tsire) and many others. Milk from cows known as Nono is consumed with Fura, which is among the most treasured meals.
The popular food recipes and how they are being prepared are:
- Tuwon Shinkafa
- Waina or Masa
- Dambun nama
Tuwon shinkafa is a Nigerian “Swallow” that originates from northern Nigeria, popular among the Hausas. It is a thick pudding prepared from local rice that is soft and sticky.
You cannot be in the northern cities of Kano, Gusau, Sokoto, Minna, Yola, Maiduguri, Damaturu, and Kebbi without having a taste of this food.
It is usually served with different types of soup like Miyan Kuka, Miyan taushe, and Miyan Wake (Beans soup), similar to the popular Yoruba Gbegiri soup.
Tuwon Shinkafa is a Nigerian local dish made from raw rice and also with Rice flour.
You can prepare it from scratch with short-grain rice (not parboiled), however, it can also be prepared with rice flour (which is the easiest & fastest method).
Other varieties of tuwo is being made from sorghum, cornmeal and yams.
It comes with a lot of health benefits and a good alternative for Fufu and Eba that is if you’re watching your gluten intake or cholesterol.
How to Prepare Tuwon Shinkafa Recipe
The Rice tuwo is cooked into a thick consistency and then shaped into a smooth rounded shape.
Ingredient
- Rice (medium or short grain)
- Water
Method
- Firstly, wash the rice. Then, pour it into a pot, pour enough water just above the rice, and cook on medium heat.
- After that, allow the water to dry up, mash it between your fingers to check the softness, if it is still a little hard, then pour more water and leave to cook on low heat.
- Then use a wooden spoon or potato masher to mash the rice to bring it together.
- Once satisfied, pick the rice in little quantities and mash it with a spatula. Fold until it turns into a mass of Tuwo.
- On the other hand, you can continue to stir and mash until it forms a nice lump.
- Lastly, cover and leave for two minutes to steam. Mix thoroughly and your Tuwon shinkafa is ready. Wet your hands, mold into balls, and Serve the dish with preferred soup.
Overview of the Food
Tuwon Shinkafa with Taushe soup
- Tuwon shinkafa or Rice tuwo is a unique Nigerian dish consisting of rice flour or soft, short-grained rice and water.
- The combination of those ingredients is cooked, mashed, and formed into large balls.
- It is popular throughout the northern parts of the country and is often served along with various soups and stews.
Waina With Soup And Powdered Pepper
The Northerners are known for their healthy and sumptuous meals and Masa is one of such meals.
Masa or Waina is a rice cake that is from the northern part of Nigeria and is traditionally eaten by the Hausa tribe.
Masan Bauchi is the popular identity for every masa in the north; irrespective of the state or town.
It is used occasionally in ceremonial and festive periods and when combined with suya as snacks/appetizers, the result is simply mazing!
Masa is a fermented puff batter of short-grain species of rice called tuwo rice/millet/ maize or sorghum that is cooked in a pan which usually makes it have the oval shape
The good thing about tuwo rice is that it tends to stick together with one another and retain moisture, unlike the conventional rice grains that tend to stay apart.
And also Sinasir, a delicacy in Borno, Northern part of Nigeria which is a white rice recipe fried like pancakes. Just like masa, it is made with a soft variety of rice, the type used for Tuwon Shinkafa.
How To Prepare Waina/Masa
This recipe shows you how to make Hausa rice cake at home. Once you have the right kind of frying pan, you are good to go.
Ingredients
- 3 cups of tuwo rice
- 2 Tablespoons of sugar
- Teaspoon of yeast
- Tablespoon of oil
- Teaspoon of potash
- 50 ml of vegetable oil
- Salt to taste
- Masa baking pan as well as basic cooking utensils.
Preparation
- Firstly, get 3 cups of tuwo rice in a bowl. Divide into two equal parts. Then, wash the first part and soak it in a bowl with potash.
- Allow it to soak for 8-10 hours. It is best if you soak it overnight.
- Then wash and boil the remaining part of the tuwo rice with just water when you are ready to prepare the meal.
- Boil it until it is very soft. Then, go ahead and mash it to a pulp.
- Then, mix the ground rice with the mashed rice together. Add sugar and salt to taste.
- After that, add a teaspoon of yeast, stir and allow frothing for 30 minutes [The batter should be running not thick]
- Grease your pan with vegetable oil and scoop your batter into the pan.
- Lastly, allow cooking until it is golden brown. Turn the other side with a spoon and also observe as it cooks and turns golden brown.
This is how to make Hausa Masa; you can serve with Yaji (Hausa spiced ground pepper) or miyan taushe (Nigerian pumpkin soup).
Serve as a snack or as a breakfast cake
Variations
How to Make Nigerian Corn Masa?
- You can make a Kokoro snack which is masa with corn in case you don’t want to make it with rice.
Nigerian Semovita Masa
- Semovita is a good alternative to rice masa especially if you cannot reach the ingredients immediately.
- Rice flour is another substitute.
- Dambun Nama
Last but not least is Dambun Nama, a Northern Nigeria delicacy that you must try at least once in your life.
The Hausa people are livestock herders, and therefore they consume meat in abundance, particularly beef.
Dambun Nama is a delicious dried shredded meat. Dambun Nama meat easily complements Tuwon Shinkafa and Masa, the first two recipes.
Do not forget that the meat needs to be very tender. You will need to boil it for at least 2 hours on medium heat. It should almost melt in your mouth.
Ingredients
- Beef – 3 kilos
- Salt
- Sugar
- Pepper
- Red pepper
- Spice seasoning
- Stock cubes
- Onion
- Hot chili pepper
- Ginger powder
- Groundnut oil
Preparation Method
- Firstly, trim off all visible fat from the meat. It should be clean muscles with no fat at all.
- Then cut the meat into big chunks. Rinse the meat and put it into the pot.
- After that, get the ingredients together like red pepper, stock cubes, onions, salt, sugar, and cook on medium heat till tender.
- Fourthly, you can transfer the meat to the cutting board and shred it properly, then, put it in a large bowl.
- Now, add one more stock cube, Ginger Powder, Hot Chili Pepper, and Suya and mix thoroughly.
- Finally, get a frying pan and add some oil with the shredded meat and pepper. This does not take much time to cook.
- Thus, once the meat is fried, you will need to remove it from the heat straight away.
