HowTo Make Nigerian Kunun Zaki At Home

Have you ever heard of the NIGERIAN KUNUN? You probably might have heard of it if you are a Nigerian but, do you know how to prepare it yourself? This tutorial will help you know the procedure of producing Nigerian Kunun yourself. For those of you who have no idea of what the Nigerian Kunun is, let’s give you an idea of what it is.

Kunun is a traditional beverage drink produced from cereal grains such as Sorghum, Millet and Corn. Some people even use rice to make Kunun. Kunun is mostly consumed in the northern part of Nigeria where these cereals are majorly cultivated. Kunun zaki is a non-alcoholic drink. It is served as a refreshing drink in homes and some social gatherings.

As I write this article, I can remember how we used to keep some money in our secondary school days to buy cold Kunun zaki after school hours and drink with straw as we walk home. I still love it till today but I was always scared of buying it because I was not sure of the production hygiene. Now, I make it easily whenever I need it. I store in the refrigerator for days too.

Actually, there are different types of Kunun that exists; they are four (4) in number;

1. Kunun Tsamiya

2. Kunun Zaki

3. Kunun Gyada

4. Kunun Kanwa

In this tutorial, we will be talking about Kunun zaki 

Ingredients & Material Needed

1. Grains (millet, sorghum or maize)
2. Spices (cloves, black pepper, red pepper, ginger)
3. Sugar (to taste)
4. Blender or mill
5. Sieves
6. Bottles and crown corks

Procedure 

1. “Take 4 cups of the grain you decide to use for the Kunun and put in a bowl of water (use grains with hulls removed)
2. Leave the grains inside the water for 12hours and discard the water. Some say they use 24 hours but I prefer this so that the maize does not start to ferment or grow.
3. Put the grains and all the spices in a blender, blend into a very smooth puree
4. Sieve the resultant puree and throw away the shaft left. You may add some water to make sieving easier.
5. You should now leave this smooth puree for some hours to settle. After this, throw away the water over the settled puree or slurry.
6. Divide the mixture into two parts (Part one should be two thirds of the mixture, and the other part, one third of it).
7. To the first part, add a small quantity of water, then add boiling water in a ratio of 4 cups of water to 1 part of the slurry. The hot water will make the slurry become a little gelatinized.
8. Mix the second part with cold water in a ratio of 3 cups of water to 1 part of slurry and add this to the first part above.
9. You should now mix these two parts together with your sugar (to taste) to get your sweetened Kunun zaki.