Fufu, fufuo, or foofoo started as a pounded meal all over West Africa. The name comes from the Twi language of the Akan tribe in Ghana. Twi is the lingua franca of Ghana, spoken by every Ghanaian and was popularized by Ghana's first president Kwame Nkrumah. In the 1950s and 60s, the term became popular and spread all over West Africa.

The original sources for Fufu were boiled cassava, plantains, yams and cocoyams. In countries that grow grains, especially corn, the corn meal is used, and it has come to be called fufu corn. Other grains like rice, wheat or oatmeal are grown into fine flour and fufu would take its name from the source of the flour.

The Northwest Region of Cameroon eats corn fufu, but it should be noted that corn was not native to the NW region of Cameroon where I come from. In fact, the grain that is native to the grass fields was millet. It was used in making millet meals (fufu and porridge, commonly known as pap). However, it could not be mass produced and stored, which meant that families relying on it had to struggle for food supply between harvest. Another reason was that it was susceptible to disease infections, which drastically curtailed the harvest.

Faced with incidences of constant famine, the British colonial administration introduced the cultivation of corn to the people of the Northwest Region. Corn quickly replaced the millet which is now only farmed in the greater northern regions of Cameroon. Millet (fonio) is a far more delicate plant than corn. Corn though has come to dominate the cuisine of the grass field and lots of ailments can be attributed to the intensive use of corn in the diets of the inhabitants.

I always used to wonder why our mothers would advise that sickly young children and even new lactating mothers should be given pap made from millet and not from corn. The answer is now obvious. The sugar content of corn is now a health hazard leading to obesity, diabetes and the like. Millet on the other hand is rich in nutrients.

The FDA has published a comprehensive nutrition panel on millet (fonio) and all I can say is that this tiny grain, as small as it is, is a wonder grain in my opinion.

Are you gluten intolerant? It is a gluten free whole grain.

Are you looking for less carbohydrates? It is an alternative to quinoa and rice. Sugars only 0.2.

Are you trying to consume less calories? A serving of millet contains 207 calories, 1.7g fat, 41g carbs, 2.3g fiber. 

Are you a vegan and looking for high plant protein? It has 6g protein per cup.

You also get 18% of your daily magnesium, and a host of B vitamins including folate. 

Research shows that It helps to lower cholesterol, improve constipation, easy bowel movement and can help prevent chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, Alzheimer, Parkinson, eye cataracts and age related muscular degeneration. Folate is good for old people. All these positive influences come from the improvement in oxidative stress that the eating of fonio provides.

At Motherland Kitchen we have packaged our fonio flour mix which can be used to prepare fonio waffles and fonio fufu. We use our fonio flour mix at our restaurant to prepare fufu for our customers and we now sell the fonio flour mix on our website @ www.motherlandspices.com, for those who are looking for an alternative to other sources of flour for fufu or waffles. 

Use this fonio flour mix for its impressive nutritional profile, its excellent taste and also to help the women in West Africa who grow this delicate grain. Stop by our restaurant, Motherland Kitchen, 7800 Biggs Ford Rd in Frederick MD and enjoy fonio fufu with any sauce of your choice whether you are a carnivore or vegan.

By Sabina Jules