I have gotten many requests for salad recipes that are full of flavour but use indigenous West African ingredients. The difficult thing is, I am from a part of West Africa where we do not do salads. We are a soups and stews culture. But when I get requests for diverse uses of West African ingredients that may not be part of my dietary traditions. I look to the Sahelian parts of West Africa and today we are taking inspiration from Arewa cuisine (Northern Nigerian cooking) to make a Moringa Fonio Salad.
Northern Nigerian (Hausa) Cuisine as an Inspiration.
Northern Nigeria is the place to look if you want to incorporate indigenous West African ingredients and flavours in diverse ways. Their meals are full of diverse greens, indigenous seasonings and spices and the recipes follow simple approaches. So for a delicious salad, I looked no where else but Northern Nigeria.
This recipe takes inspiration from mainly two northern Nigerian Salads.
Kwadon Zogale
Kwadon Zogale is a Northern Nigerian warm moringa salad. The moringa leaves are boiled and seasoned with kuli kuli (fried peanut snacks that are already seasoned) or yaaji (a peanut based spice rub with kuli kuli as the base). This adds healthy fats but also seasons the salad well drawing flavour from the kuli kuli or yaaji. Sliced onions, tomatoes and other vegetables can be added along with extra peanut oil. This a well seasoned salad.
Dambu Shinkafa
Dambu shinkafa is made with broken rice or rice grits that is steamed and then mixed with moringa leaves along with onion, crushed peanuts, finely chopped pepper, and spices. The composition is similar to kwadon zogale but adding the carb can turn this into a complete meal.
My Rendition of Moringa Fonio Salad
This recipe takes elements from these two salads and further amplifies it. The base of the salad is moringa as well as fonio (also known as acha in Northern Nigeria) instead of the rice grits. Fonio and moringa are nutritious ingredients and a great foundation for a salad. I have maintained the the peanuts for seasoning and included more herbs like parsley for extra freshness, lentils for plant based protein and extra fibre, and kept the tomatoes and onions for flavour and crunch.
Health Benefit of Fonio and Moringa
Fonio
Fonio is a gluten free grain indigenous to West Africa. Fonio goes by many names, labeled as acha in Northern Nigeria. Like moringa, fonio has considerable amounts of sulfur based amino acids (methionine and cysteine), which are hard to find in plant based foods. It has noticeable amounts of iron and B vitamins. It also has more fibre and protein than brown rice. You can learn more about fonio in this post.
Moringa
Moringa Oleifera, the most popular moringa species, is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent but the highest botanical diversity for moringa is found across East Africa. There are well over 100 documented uses of moringa, with the leaves consumed because they are rich in calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, also have beta carotene, some folic acid, vitamin c and E, as well a long list of antioxidants. They are often brewed into teas, made into soups or sauces and given to breastfeeding mothers as well as people who struggle with anemia.
Looking for more Fonio and Moringa Based Recipes?
Ingredients you need to make this Moringa Fonio Salad
Fonio Salad
- Fonio. These are typically sold partially cooked so all you need to do is cook it for about 10 minutes.
- Moringa. 1 large bunch of fresh moringa on the leaves or 3-4 cups of dried moringa leaves (not in powder form)
- Vegetables. For simplicity, I stick to chopped tomatoes and onions. The tomatoes also have the necessary vitamin C to aid in the absorption of iron.
- Herbs. For more bulk I add roughly chopped parsley. The flavour is mild. You are welcome to use other herbs like coriander or dill or even lettuce if you prefer.
- Lentils (optional). This adds some extra plant based protein, fibre and iron.
- Yaaji Seasoning/Suya Powder. This is going to help season the salad. Yaaji/Suya powder is a peanut based dry rub/spice blend from Northern Nigeria. These are quite easy to find at any African shop or at many local markets (the best would be a market with a larger Muslim or Hausa population)
Dressing (optional)
Dressing is not entirely necessary, you can opt for a generous drizzle of groundnut oil (roasted peanut oil) or olive oil
- Peanut butter. 100% natural peanut butter
- Water. To help loosen up the peanut butter
- Liquid Sweetener. Honey or maple syrup works
- Lemon Juice. The acidity helps balance the fat and sweet flavours.
- Salt and pepper for flavour.
How to make this moringa fonio salad
How to Prep Moringa
Prepping moringa is fairly simple. Working with one main branch at a time, pinch your thumb and index fingers together and drag along the small branches. The leaves will come off easily. Wash the moringa leaves. Blanch in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until wilted. Remove and place in cold water. Squeeze out excess liquid.
How to Cook Fonio (takes only 10 minutes)
I have a very simple fonio process. The ratio of fonio to water is 1 to 1.25. If cooking 1 cup of fonio, bring 1.25 cups of water to a boil with a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the fonio, cover the pot, and turn the heat to low and boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, keep the fonio fully covered for another 5 minutes before fluffing with a fork. You can scale the amount of fonio and water based on how much you want cook.
Combining Everything
After prepping the fonio and moringa, the salad can be assembled by just adding everything together.
If you are making the dressing, mix the peanut butter with water until loosened, then add the rest of the dressing ingredients, adjusting based on personal preference.
Mix the salad with the dressing and that is it.
What to serve the moringa salad with
Any protein side works but you can honestly eat it on its own, especially if you increase the amount of lentils.
Storage
This salad stores very well in the fridge for up to a week. I recommend keeping the dressing separate.
Ingredients
Fonio Salad
- 1 large bunch of moringa
- 1/2 cup of fonio
- 5/8 cup of water (150ml)
- 1 small onion finely sliced
- 1 tomato finely chopped
- 1 small bunch of parsley roughly chopped
- 1 cup cooked brown lentils or any beans of choice
- 3-4 tablespoons yaaji/suya powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Dressing Choice 1: Peanut Dressing (optional)
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1-2 teaspoons of liquid sweetener honey or maple syrup
- 1/2 – 1 teaspoons lemon juice
- a pinch of salt
Dressing Choice 2: Good Quality Oil (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons groundnut oil or olive oil
Instructions
Prep The Moringa
- Remove the moringa leaves (instructions details listed in the blog)
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil
- Wash the moringa leaves
- Add the moringa leaves to the hot water, boil for about 5 minutes until fully wilted. Remove the moringa from the pot and add to a large bowl with cold water
- Squeeze out all the excess water
Boil the Fonio
- In a small pot, bring the water (5/8 cups/150ml) to a boil with a pinch of salt.
- Once boiling, add the fonio, stir well, cover the pot and cook at low heat for five minutes. Turn off the heat and keep the pot covered for another 5 minutes.
- After the five minutes have passed, fluff the fonio.
Combine the salad ingredients
- In a large mixing bowl, add the fonio, moringa, onion, tomato, parsley, lentils and yaaji powder. Mix well. Taste and adjust salt
- If you are not using the peanut based dressing, you can add groundnut oil or olive oil and be done
Make the Salad Dressing
- If you are making the peanut based dressing, start by mixing the peanut butter with warm water (1 tablespoon at a time) to get loosened yet creamy consistency. You might need more or less water.
- Then add the rest of the dressing ingredients. Taste the dressing and make adjustments based on personal preference.
- Enjoy the salad on its own or with a side of protein.