Version from Nigeria
Tuwon shinkafa — Nigeria
Tuwon shinkafa is a thick, sticky rice pudding-swallow from northern Nigeria, pounded smooth and eaten by hand with soups such as miyan kuka.
- 10 min
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 4
- Servings
- Easy
- Difficulty
Tuwon shinkafa is a rice swallow: local rice is cooked down and pounded or beaten into a thick, soft, sticky mass eaten by hand in place of bread or grain porridge, alongside a soup. It belongs to the wider family of West African swallows that also includes versions made from maize or sorghum flour, known as tuwon masara and tuwon dawa.
The dish is reported from Niger and from the northern part of Nigeria, where it is a staple accompaniment to thick soups such as miyan kuka, made with baobab leaf, and miyan taushe, made with pumpkin; a related preparation is known in Ghana as omo tuo or mɔlukple.
To prepare it, rice is boiled with extra water until very soft and starting to break down, then pounded or vigorously stirred with a wooden paddle while still hot, sometimes with additional rice flour, until it comes together into a smooth, elastic, sticky mass. It is shaped into rounds or mounds and served warm, alongside a bowl of soup.
Within the wider family of West African swallows, this version is set apart by its base grain: rice gives a stickier, slightly grainy result compared with the smoother maize or sorghum swallows made the same way. Households vary the ratio of water to rice and how long the mass is worked, which changes how firm or soft the final swallow turns out.
Preparation
Rinse the rice and boil it in plenty of water until very soft and starting to break apart.
Drain off any excess water, keeping the rice thick and wet rather than dry.
Turn the hot rice into a mortar or heavy pot and pound or beat it vigorously, adding a little rice flour if needed, until smooth, sticky and elastic.
Shape the mass into rounds with wet hands and serve warm alongside a soup.
