Fonio: ancestral cereal of West Africa, composition and cooking

Fonio is a tiny cereal grown in West Africa for several millennia. It is prepared like semolina and accompanies the simmered sauces of West African cuisine.

What is fonio?

Fonio refers to two cereals of the genus Digitaria, in the Poaceae family: white fonio (Digitaria exilis) and black fonio (Digitaria iburua), with tiny grains, much smaller than those of millet. It grows in the West African savanna, from Senegal to Lake Chad, except in Liberia; Guinea is its main growing region. Its domestication is thought to date back to the early fifth millennium BCE, making it one of the oldest cultivated cereals in Africa; the traveller Ibn Battuta already mentions it in the fourteenth century. Among the Dogon, white fonio is associated with agriculture itself.

Fonio composition

Raw fonio provides, per 100 grams, about 367 kilocalories, 9 grams of protein, 75 grams of carbohydrates and 1.8 grams of fat. Agronomic studies put the protein content between 5 and 11% depending on the variety, with an average close to 8%, and the fibre content between 0.4 and 11% for an average close to 6%. The grain also provides, on average, about 8.5 milligrams of iron and 460 milligrams of magnesium per 100 grams, with wide variation between studies. It stands out above all for its methionine and cysteine content, two sulphur-containing amino acids scarcely present in sorghum, rice or wheat. Fonio is not one of the cereals that contain gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats). If you need to avoid gluten, check the product label: traces are possible depending on where it was processed.

How to cook fonio

Fonio is prepared like semolina: rinsed, then steamed in several passes for the raw grain, or poured directly into boiling water for precooked commercial versions, which swell in a few minutes. It is used in many West African dishes: couscous, porridge, fritters, or Malian djouka, a mixture of fonio and peanut powder cooked in a steamer.

Where to find fonio in France?

NKOSI sells precooked NUMBER ONE fonio and NUMBER ONE djouka, a precooked mix of fonio and peanut for the Malian dish of the same name, found in the African cereals and grains section. To cook it, see the blog for the fonio in sauce recipe or the peanut djouka recipe.