Sosso haourou — millet paste with natron

Name: Sosso haourou — millet paste with natron
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Niger
Ingredients: 350 g sifted fine millet flour; 900 ml drinking water, plus 100 ml reserved; 1 g food-grade natron, weighed precisely (never use household/technical products); 3 g salt, adjusted to the accompanying sauce

A soft millet-flour paste cooked while stirring with a very small, measured amount of food-grade natron; serve the sauce separately.

Ingredients

350 g sifted fine millet flour
900 ml drinking water, plus 100 ml reserved
1 g food-grade natron, weighed precisely (never use household/technical products)
3 g salt, adjusted to the accompanying sauce

Preparation

Whisk the flour into 250 ml cold water taken from the measured amount until smooth. Dissolve the natron separately in a spoonful of water.

Bring the remaining 650 ml water to a simmer in a heavy pot and add salt. Pour in the flour mixture gradually while stirring continuously.

Cook over low heat for 15–20 min, stirring and scraping the bottom. Add a little reserved hot water if it becomes firm before the raw-flour taste disappears.

Stir in the small natron solution and cook 2–3 min more. Do not add more without checking the product and tasting; excess creates an alkaline taste and increases sodium.

The paste should be smooth, cooked and thick enough to hold on a spoon. Taste a cooled bite, adjust salt carefully and serve with a separately prepared sauce.