Kunun Aya (Tigernut Milk)
Reprinted with permission from My Everyday Lagos by Yewande Komolafe copyright © 2023. Photographs by Kelly Marshall. Published by Clarkson Potter, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC.
I practically lived on this milk during my visit to Lagos in February 2020. I spent most of my days in traffic, crawling from vendor to market to restaurant, and, finally, to an auntie’s house (or two). I packed a cooler in the backseat of the car with a bottle of kunun aya, ready for whenever I felt a rush of hunger coming on.
Tigernuts are tiny nut-like tubers that taste like a cross between pecans and almonds. They are grown across Africa, and in Nigeria, they’re cultivated in the North and can be found at the market in nearly all forms: fresh, dehydrated, roasted, or milled into a flour. On their own, they’re delicious—mild, slightly sweet, and nutritious— full of protein, calcium, magnesium, and fiber. When rehydrated and pressed, these tiny tubers yield a thick and creamy liquid. An important step in extracting the milk is allowing the nuts to soak for at least 12 hours, a process I refer to here as “blooming.” I’m always surprised at how much liquid tigernuts can absorb. They plump up after a good soak—about 2 to 3 times their original size.
Kunun aya is typically served sweetened with crushed dates or honey and spiced with ginger. This filling beverage can be enjoyed at room temperature or chilled, and will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, and up to 3 months frozen.
SERVES 4
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups (330 grams) whole, dried tigernuts
- ½ cup (50 grams) pitted medjool dates, halved and soaked in warm water
- 1 teaspoon Toasted Spice Blend for Sweets (page 101)
- ½ teaspoon fine salt
METHOD
Place the tigernuts in a large bowl and cover with water about 4 inches above the top of the tigernuts. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature for at least 12 hours and up to 24 hours.
Drain off the soaking liquid and discard. Puree the soaked tigernuts and the dates in a high-speed blender with 4 cups warm water until very smooth. Do this in batches if necessary.
Strain into a bowl over a finemesh sieve or a muslin cloth and discard the tigernut pulp. Stir the toasted spice blend and salt into the milk. Transfer to a bottle or airtight container. It will keep for up to 48 hours refrigerated and up to a month frozen.
Yewande Komolafe is a Berlin-born, Lagos-raised food writer, recipe developer, and food stylist based in Brooklyn. Her professional career began as a pastry cook in classic French pastry kitchens. She moved on to work in fine dining restaurants in Atlanta and New York, where she was one of the first employees of Momofuku Milk Bar. Yewande’s writing and recipes have appeared in the New York Times, Whetstone, Food & Wine, Munchies, and the books Sheetpan Chicken by Cathy Erway for TASTE and Lindsay Gardner’s Why We Cook. Yewande has also appeared on a James Beard Award–nominated episode of The Sporkful, WNYC’s All of It with Alison Stewart, and Milk Street Radio with Christopher Kimball.