How to Wash Fonio (Acha)
Fonio is a great grain which can be used to prepare a lot of meals. But it can also have a few sand particles in it. This is how to wash your fonio grains before using it to cook.
TOOLS:
(1) 2 Large Bowls (Traditionally, 2 Big Calabashes are Used)
(2) Good Supply of Water
(3) It Helps to Have Good Wrist Action 🙂
PROCEDURE:
(1) Place grains in a big bowl and pour some water over it. Use your hand to mix grains with water. Allow grains to settle for a couple of seconds. You will notice some chaffs and particles floating at the top of the water. Pour the water away with these and add some fresh water to the grains.
(2) With the bowl of fonio and water in one of your hands, pour the contents into the second bowl while swaying your wrists side by side like a pendulum. Most of the water will end up in the other bowl along with some of the fonio. Pour some water from the second bowl back into the bowl in your hand and repeat process over and over again until almost all of the fonio is in the second bowl and what is left in the first bowl are a few grains and some sand. Pour this away. This process is aided by gravity. As the lighter fonio grains float in the water, the heavier sand grains fall to the bottom of the bowl. The wrist swaying motion helps the fonio grains to stay afloat.
(3) Change the water in the fonio and repeat step 2 about 2 more times, changing the water after each cycle.
(4) At the end of the process, you will end up with clean fonio grains ready for use. Fonio can be used to cook Fonio Pudding. You have to be patient while washing the grains so you get rid of all of the sand particles. Have fun trying this out!
Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.
Nice1 Terry. I got acha from home some weeks back and I have been dreading to wash it coz i just knw I would end up getting frustrated getting rid of the sand. I have been craving pate for like ever…thanks for your tips on washing it
You are welcome. Wish you could send me some pate when you are done.
I dont knw where u are, i would have posted the acha for u..am sure ur pate will wow us once again. Keep up the good work and inspiring people..
Thanks
Thank you so much for the washing instructions, a bag of Acha just arrived and it definitely has sand in it. Will be following the instructions and recipes.
My uncle brought this for us fro Abuja some years back.I just washed straight like rice n cooked..after cooking it was as if the sand outnumbered the grain..didn’t enjoy eating it as we has to bin most of it n ever since..I ve been dreading buying it.thanks for the tutorial.
Sorry about your experience. Yes, Acha can be sandy. I hope this tutorial helps you in future.
Thanks really loved it. Real comfort food. I put a dash of cinnamon to complement the earthy flavour of the acha. Loved it. The only downside was that I was too lazy to wash it properly so it was sandy with every scoop 😞
Acha is my no 1 comfort food esp when I’m ill. Washing it properly is very essential as the sandy feel is no fun.