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Togwa
Sweet fermented maize drink
Togwa: thin maize gruel sweetened by sprouted finger millet and soured overnight into a refreshing, barely tangy drink
In Tanzania's Dodoma, Singida and Iringa regions, togwa is drunk through the hot, dry months and carried to workers in the fields at midday. It starts as a thin porridge of maize or sorghum flour. Once it cools a little, a handful of kimea, sprouted and dried finger millet ground to a malt, is stirred in, and its enzymes turn the starch to sugar so the thick gruel thins almost before your eyes and tastes sweet. Left overnight, it sours lightly. Good togwa is sweet-sour, smooth and drinkable, like a thin, tangy grain milk. Any alcohol is only a trace, well under 1%, if drunk within a day or two. The common mistake is stirring the kimea into gruel that is still boiling, which kills the enzymes and leaves it stodgy; wait until it is hot but bearable to touch, about 60 °C. It is ready when it has thinned to a pourable drink, tastes pleasantly sour and smells clean and slightly yeasty. If you cannot buy kimea, soak finger millet for 12 hours, sprout it for 2 days, dry it in the sun or a cool oven and grind it. Chef's tip: stir in the malt in two goes, half while warm to sweeten and half when cool to start the souring.
- Total time
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the gruel
- 5 ½ oz fine white maize meal (corn flour)or fine sorghum meal
- 6 ¼ cups water
For sweetening and souring
- 1 ⅜ oz kimea (sprouted finger millet malt), groundfrom East African shops; or homemade, see the intro
- 1 ⅜ oz sugar (optional)only if you want it sweeter
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk the 5 ½ oz fine white maize meal (corn flour) into 500 ml of the cold 2 cups water in a bowl until there are no lumps.
3 minStep 2: Bring the rest of the 4 ¼ cups water to the boil in a heavy pot. Whisk in the maize slurry and keep stirring as it comes back to the boil.
5 minStep 3: Simmer over a low heat, stirring often, until it becomes a smooth, translucent, slightly thick gruel with no raw taste.
20 minStep 4: Take off the heat and leave until it is hot but you can hold a finger in it, about 140°F.
20 minStep 5: Stir in half the ⅔ oz kimea (sprouted finger millet malt), ground. Within 20–30 minutes the thick gruel will turn thin and runny and taste clearly sweet: that is the malt working.
25 minStep 6: Leave to cool to room temperature, then stir in the rest of the ⅔ oz kimea (sprouted finger millet malt), ground. Cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature for 8–12 hours, until it tastes pleasantly sour, smells clean and has a few small bubbles.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 120 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbs
- 25 g
- Fat
- 1 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does togwa take?
- About 50 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
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