Or how to prepare teff grain and keep this African superfood raw.
Imagine yourself indulging on a creamy, rich, comforting to the tastebuds and mind meal, while at the same time helping your body maintain endurance and release unwanted flab! A fantasy? Maybe, but this porridge can offer you all of these.
Sometimes I keep this porridge as simple as two ingredients and it’s just as fabulous. It may be too bland for you though.
First, the recipe itself. Then, a bit on teff and coconut oil.
The quantities in this recipe make one (maybe a bit large) serving.
You need:
- 1/2 cup teff flour
- 2-3 tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 2-3 tbsp melted coconut oil
- ripe bananas / berries / dates / your favorite fruits
To make the porridge, you need teff in a flour form.
You can either buy teff flour or make your own by grinding whole teff grain in a coffee grinder. If you do it yourself, the taste and aroma of your porridge will be more pronounced.
I usually get teff flour. I find that buying the flour in packages is better than in bulk – the flavor is more intense.
1. Place 1/2 cup of raw teff flour in a bowl, add 2-3 tablespoons of freshly-squeezed lemon juice. Then pour just enough warm filtered water to wet the flour. Let teff soak for 8-1o hours at room temperature. Soaking reduces phytic acid as well as improves its digestibility and flavor. Just leaving the bowl on the counter overnight is great.
2. In a morning, melt coconut oil by putting 2-3 tablespoons in a glass jar and then partly submerging that jar in hot water.
3. Add melted coconut oil and your teff is ready!
4. You can top the porridge with your favorite berries, fresh or dried fruits, soaked cashews – whatever you like. It pairs with sour and sweet stuff equally well. I like it with bananas, sour berries. This time I made it with dried mango (soaking mango beforehand is a good idea).
If your sweet tooth kicks in, cut and throw 2-3 dates. Even better, put date paste in there.
Also, if you want your porridge warm, put it into a stove and turn on the “keep warm” mode. The other option is to use a dehydrator.
My suggestion? Savor this hearty porridge on cold mornings. It’s winter, so.. say, tomorrow?
A little-known teff grain
I’ve discovered teff for myself in 2015. I liked it so much that since that day it became my staple food for more than half a year. I’ve talked about teff already.
- People in Ethiopia eat teff at least once per day. It has been their staple for a long time. Ethiopian marathon runners are addicted to it especially as teff promotes physical stamina. The smallest grain, yet the mightiest. Teff is for the tough 🙂
- Teff is a complete protein. Meaning? It has all nine essential amino acids
- Teff is high in protein. On average it consists of 14% of protein. For comparison, beef consists of roughly 26% of protein. Quite incredible for a plant, don’t you think?
- Teff has loads of resistance starch. Roughly about 30%. This substance is a nutritional treasure. It can do a lot for your body and fixes a lot in your body. I’ll list three things that I like especially:
1. Like I mentioned in some of my other posts resistance starch maintains your energy levels (and hence stamina) throughout the day. It does so by releasing energy at a slow but continuous rate. It’s great if you have a full day of work ahead of you or before a workout.
2. It increases the level of appetite-reducing hormones. It also boosts metabolism. These two ultimate help you lose unwanted fat.
3. In a long-term, resistance starch can fix a majority of digestion-related issues.
Coconut oil
I won’t be going through the benefits of this mouthwatering oil. I’ll just say that there are many. You may be familiar with some. If you are “raw”, it makes even more sense to have it often. The reasons? See them here.
A few weeks ago, I read that Dr. Mercola has been on coconut oil for many years. He is not talking about a few teaspoons per day there. He is in the game of tablespoons. Me? Same.