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AI-generated photograph: Smooth, tawny millet porridge in a deep hand thrown clay bowl, a scatter of chopped toasted peanuts and a single whole clove on top, a small spoon resting at the side

Home · Recipes · Hausa koko, spiced millet porridge

West African · Breakfast

Hausa koko, spiced millet porridge

smooth millet koko · fresh ginger and clove · toasted peanut

AI-generated photograph

Hausa koko is the smooth, warming millet porridge sold at Ghanaian street stalls in the morning, fiery with fresh ginger and fragrant with cloves. Sweetened to taste and finished with toasted peanuts for crunch.

Contains: peanuts, as written. Contains peanuts, in the optional topping; leave them out and none of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Millet is naturally gluten free, but buy flour labelled gluten free if you need to avoid traces of wheat.

Ingredients

  • 150g millet flour (sold in world foods shops and some health food aisles)
  • A piece of ginger about the size of your thumb (30g), peeled and finely grated
  • Half a teaspoon whole cloves (about 6)
  • A quarter teaspoon black pepper
  • A pinch of salt
  • 4 tablespoons soft light brown sugar, or to taste
  • To serve (optional): 50g roasted peanuts, unsalted, roughly chopped

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Let's cook

  1. Put the millet flour in a bowl and pour in the 300ml cold water. Whisk to a smooth, runny paste with no lumps. Leave it to stand for 15 minutes while you get the spiced water ready. This softens the flour so the porridge cooks smooth.
  2. Pour the 900ml water into a medium pan. Add the ginger, cloves, black pepper and salt. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 5 minutes so the spices flavour the water.
  3. Pour the spiced water through a sieve into a jug to catch the cloves and ginger, then pour it back into the pan and bring it back to the boil. Leave the ginger in if you like it extra hot.
  4. Stir the millet paste well, as it settles. Turn the heat down to medium and pour the paste slowly into the boiling water in a thin stream, whisking all the time so no lumps form.
  5. Keep whisking as it thickens, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat to low and cook for 8 to 10 minutes more, stirring often, until it is smooth, glossy and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, like a pouring custard.
  6. Take it off the heat and stir in the sugar. Taste and add more if you like it sweeter.
  7. If using peanuts, toast them in a dry frying pan on a medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant, then chop roughly.
  8. Ladle into warm bowls and scatter over the toasted peanuts.

Tips

  • Whisk without stopping while you pour the paste in. That is the whole secret to smooth koko.
  • For the slightly sour taste of the street stall version, mix the flour paste the night before and leave it covered in the fridge.
  • Koko thickens as it stands. Loosen with a splash of hot water, and reheat leftovers, kept in the fridge for up to 2 days, until steaming hot.

Swaps

  • Milder for children: halve the ginger and leave out the black pepper.
  • Creamier: stir a few spoons of coconut milk into each bowl.
  • Peanut free: leave out the peanuts, or top with toasted coconut flakes.

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