LounjeLounjePlan my week

Kunu Aya

Also known as Kunu Aya (Tiger Nut Drink)

Kunu Aya is one of the most nutritionally extraordinary traditional Nigerian drinks — made from tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus), called Aya in Hausa and Ofio in Yoruba. Tiger nuts are not true nuts but small, wrinkled underground tubers with an extraordinarily sweet, creamy, coconut-like flavour.

Kunu Aya, Nigerian cooking

Ingredients

  • 3 big cups of tiger nuts (aya / ofio), soaked overnight
  • 3 glasses of water for blending
  • A small piece of fresh ginger — optional, for a spiced version
  • Half a teaspoon of vanilla extract — optional
  • A small amount of honey — optional, only if extra sweetness desired

Method

  1. 01

    Soaking Overnight. Place tiger nuts in a bowl. Cover with 3 glasses of cold water. Soak for a minimum of 8 hours — overnight is ideal. The tiger nuts will swell and soften significantly.

  2. 02

    Blending. Drain the soaked tiger nuts. Transfer to a blender. Add 3 glasses of fresh cold water, fresh ginger if using and vanilla if using. Blend at maximum speed for 2 to 3 minutes until completely smooth and creamy.

  3. 03

    Straining. Strain through a fine muslin cloth, pressing and squeezing firmly to extract every drop of the naturally sweet, creamy tiger nut milk. The strained milk will be thick and ivory-white.

  4. 04

    Chilling and Serving. Add honey only if additional sweetness is desired — the natural tiger nut sweetness is usually sufficient. Stir well. Refrigerate until very cold. Serve over ice in clear glasses so the beautiful ivory-white colour is visible.

More traditional drinks