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Fororo
Toasted corn porridge
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)
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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.
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