AI-generated image
Fororo
Fororo: warm toasted-corn porridge with milk, cinnamon and panela
Fororo is the name for finely ground toasted corn, and for the smooth porridge made from it that grandmothers in Lara, Barinas and the rest of the Llanos give to children before school or to anyone feeling under the weather. It tastes gently nutty, like warm popcorn in a cup, sweetened with panela and scented with cinnamon. If you can't find fororo flour, toasting fine cornmeal in a dry pan gives the same result. The common mistake is tipping the flour straight into hot milk, which makes lumps. Chef's tip: whisk the flour into a little cold milk first, then pour it into the pot.
- Total time
- 20 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 2 ⅛ oz fine yellow cornmealor ready-made fororo
- 3 ¼ cups whole milk
- 2 ⅛ oz panelagrated, or brown sugar
- 2 cloves
- 1 pinch salt
To serve
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional)
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: If not using ready-made fororo, toast 2 ⅛ oz fine yellow cornmeal in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring all the time, for 5 minutes, until it smells like popcorn and turns a shade darker. Tip onto a plate to cool.
5 minStep 2: Whisk the toasted flour into 150 ml of ¾ cup whole milk until smooth.
1 minStep 3: Heat the rest of 2 ½ cups whole milk with 2 ⅛ oz panela, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves and 1 pinch salt until steaming and the panela has dissolved.
5 minStep 4: Whisk in the corn mixture and simmer gently, stirring, for 6–8 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon like thin custard. Remove the cinnamon and cloves.
8 minStep 5: Pour into cups and dust with ½ tsp ground cinnamon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 220 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does fororo take?
- About 20 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of whole milk?
- Semi-skimmed milk with 1 tbsp cream per 240ml (1 cup).
- What can I use instead of cinnamon stick?
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon per stick.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Bsissa
A tin of bsissa sits in many Tunisian kitchen cupboards, from Tunis flats to farmhouses in the south: a finely ground flour of roasted barley, roasted chickpeas and spices such as coriander, fennel and aniseed. In the morning a few spoonfuls are worked with olive oil and something sweet into a nutty, crumbly paste, or stirred with water into a thick drink, and it keeps you going until lunch. Travellers and pilgrims once carried it for the road. Roasting your own flour takes 15 minutes and makes a jar that lasts weeks. Sugar and dates keep it vegan; some families use honey. Chef's tip: roast the flours separately over a low heat and stir constantly; the moment they smell like toasted biscuits and turn light tan, tip them out of the pan.
Tunisian
Sabudana khichdi
Sabudana khichdi is the dish that sees Maharashtra through every vrat (fast), from Navratri to Ekadashi, but it's so good that people eat it any day of the week. Soaked sago pearls are tossed in a pan with crushed roasted peanuts, cubes of potato, cumin and green chilli until each pearl turns glassy and separate, then finished with lemon and coriander. It's soft, chewy, nutty and gently hot. Fasting rules vary from family to family, so check yours; this version uses rock salt and no asafoetida, onion or garlic. Traditionally it's cooked in ghee; use ghee instead of oil if you aren't keeping it vegan. Chef's tip: soak the sago in just enough water to cover by the height of the pearls themselves, no more; too much water is the reason khichdi turns into one sticky lump.
Indian
Doi chira
Nothing is cooked for doi chira, which is why it has been the breakfast of farmers and fishermen in Barisal for generations: flattened rice is rinsed, softened in thick, slightly sour curd and sweetened with jaggery or sugar, then mashed together with a ripe banana. The texture is soft and creamy with a little chew from the rice flakes, and the taste is cool, sweet and tangy. It is eaten on hot summer mornings, at village fairs and as part of the Pohela Boishakh spread, and it is a favourite of children and of anyone fasting who wants something gentle. The usual misstep is soaking the chira for too long, which turns it to paste; a quick rinse is all it needs before the curd does the rest. Chef's tip: use thick-cut chira, not the thin kind for frying, so the flakes hold their shape.
Bangladeshi