Waina Recipe

 Waina

This is a rice dish often referred to as Masa, which is shaped like a mini cake and is made using short grain rice. This short grain variety of rice in highly consumed in the Northern part of Nigeria and is referred to as Tuwo rice. Waina has a background in Northern Nigeria and is enjoyed by the Northerners across all the states.

The rice used in making this dish is soaked for a few days and left to ferment to give the waina its original taste. Waina is also fried in a unique pan that reminds me of a traditional pancake puff pan. It is consumed as both a savory and sweet dish. It is very dependent on the individual in terms of their preferences. 

I prefer to eat mine as a sweet dish. Ideally, I think the Nigerian culinary space has enough savory dishes and not enough sweet dishes. Therefore,  I am willing to do anything to contribute to our dessert repertoire so that our culinary experience is diverse for a foreigner. There are a few suggestions of how to serve your waina as a dessert.

Some syrups you can use are; 

• Afrolems Zobo Syrup
• Sweetened Coconut milk
• Chocolate Syrup
• Caramel Syrup 

Recipe for Waina

Ingredients

2 Cups of Tuwo rice (Substitute – jasmine rice)

A tablespoon of yeast

One tablespoon sugar

1 cooking spoon of oil

1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger

Method

Soak one cup of the Tuwo rice in water and add 1/2 the tablespoon of yeast. Allow it sit for 6- 8 hours

Boil the other cup of rice and mash it and set aside. (It is important to note that this was my method of making waina and is not compulsory to go this route.

Pour the soaked rice into a blender and then add the mashed rice and blend the rice until smooth.

In the blended rice mixture, pour in your grated ginger and sugar and the other tablespoon of yeast and leave to rise for about 30 minutes or less.

In a pancake puff pan, grease the pan a little and add the waina mixture to fry and flip as well to brown on the other side.

Finally, serve your waina with Zobo Syrup or any other syrup of your choice.