Ingredient
Fonio
Fonio is a tiny West African grain that cooks in about five minutes, tastes nutty and faintly grassy, and comes out light and separate like a very fine couscous. It has been grown across the Sahel for thousands of years and is one of the quickest grains there is to get on a plate.
What it is
Fonio is a cultivated millet, grown across West Africa from Senegal to Nigeria, and among the oldest cultivated cereals in the region. The grains are minute — comparable to teff — and pale, and they cook into a light, fluffy, slightly granular texture.
It is drought-tolerant and grows on poor soil in a very short season, which is why it is grown where it is grown. Historically the obstacle has been processing: the husk is hard to remove from something that small, and hand-pounding fonio is laborious. Mechanised dehulling is much of why it has become more widely available.
It contains no gluten. Its flavour is mild — nutty, slightly earthy, a bit like a cross between couscous and quinoa without quinoa's bitterness — which makes it a carrier rather than a statement.
Cooking it
It is very quick and the main risk is clumping.
- Rinse it in a fine sieve. Fonio is small enough to go straight through an ordinary colander, so use the finest sieve you have or a cloth.
- Use roughly twice the volume of liquid to grain, salted, and bring it to the boil.
- Stir the fonio in, bring back to a simmer, cover and take it off the heat or turn it right down.
- Leave it for about five minutes. It absorbs the liquid quickly and needs no more attention.
- Fluff it with a fork immediately, breaking up any clumps while it is still hot. Left to sit undisturbed it sets into a mass.
- Steaming is the traditional method and gives the lightest result — moisten the grain, steam it in a couscoussier, break it up, and steam again.
How to serve it
- Under a West African stew — groundnut stew, maafe, egusi soup, jollof-style sauces. This is what it is for.
- As a couscous substitute, in any dish where couscous would work, including salads.
- In a grain salad, with herbs, lemon, tomato and cucumber, tabbouleh-style. Its fineness suits it particularly well.
- As a breakfast porridge, cooked in milk with honey or dates.
- Fried into cakes or fritters, bound with egg.
- Instead of rice under anything saucy, where its speed is the advantage.
- With plenty of fat and seasoning. Fonio is mild and takes salt, butter, oil, herbs and acid readily. Underseason it and it tastes of very little.
Fonio against the grains it resembles
- Couscous
- The closest in texture. Couscous is rolled wheat semolina — a pasta rather than a grain — and contains gluten. Fonio is a whole grain and does not.
- Quinoa
- Similar cooking time bracket, larger grain, more assertive and slightly bitter flavour, distinctly different texture.
- Millet
- A relative. Larger grains, longer cooking, more porridge-like.
- Teff
- Comparably tiny, but teff is far more distinctly flavoured and is used differently — mostly fermented into injera rather than served as a grain.
- Rice
- Much larger, much longer cooking, and a completely different mouthfeel.
Common questions
Why did mine go clumpy?
It sat undisturbed after cooking. Fluff it with a fork the moment it comes off the heat.
Is fonio gluten-free?
Yes. Check the packet for cross-contamination warnings if it matters medically.
Does it need rinsing?
A rinse improves it, in a fine sieve or a cloth. The grains will pass straight through a normal colander.
Can I use it instead of couscous?
Yes, more or less directly, and it is a good gluten-free substitute in a salad or under a stew.
Where do I find it?
African and Caribbean grocers, specialist shops and online. It has become considerably easier to buy in the last decade.