Kunu is a drink that is native to Northern Nigeria. It is also called Kunu Zaki or Kununzaki. This drink has similarities with locally made milk; both are majorly produced in the Northern part of Nigeria and have the same look. Milk is produced from an animal source (goat, sheep and cow) while kunu is made from plant source (grains). The scorching sun of this region makes kunu a sought after drink as it is consumed when thirsty. This creamy delight is a must-drink for people of all ages and traditions. Kunu can be made from tiger nuts, millet, corn, rice or sorghum. The ingredients for this drink are available in the market, especially among the Hausa Communities. Apart from the fact that kunu is tasty, it also has a lot of benefits. This includes boosting the immune system, source of essential fat, essential recovery from weight loss, source of Vitamin B, and also helps to decrease the level of cholesterol in the body.
Kunu is prepared with few ingredients. They are coconut, ginger, cinnamon, tiger nuts (fresh or dry), and date palm fruits (fresh or dry).
Make sure you pick out stone particles from the tiger nuts. Rinse the fresh tiger nuts and put in a clean bowl. If you are using dried tiger nuts, soak in cold water for at least 48 hours and place in the fridge to ferment. For the date palm fruits, remove the seed and rinse the fresh date palm fruits. If you are using dried date palm fruits, soak in water to soften it. Remove the hull from the coconut and then cut the coconut into small slices. Peel off the skin of the ginger and rinse properly.
Add the tiger nuts, date palm fruit, coconut, ginger, and a little water into a blender. Blend the mixture until it is smooth. Sieve the content of the blender by using a sieve cloth. Add the chaff back, along with some water (very little water should be added so that the final result is not too watery) in the blender. Blend the mixture and squeeze the juice out again with a cloth. Refrigerate the juice extract.
Kunu is best served chilled; it can be taken alone or when eating a meal. Enjoy this creamy delight and thank me later.
Bon appetit!