By Yewande Komolafe
- Total Time
- 40 minutes, plus soaking
- Rating
- 4(413)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Short-grain rice imparts a subtle sweetness to this creamy, peanutty blend. Aromatic cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves — or any other warming spices — meld into the comforting porridge, which is often served at the beginning or end of the day as a means of filling the gap between meals in northern Nigeria. Serve hot or room temperature, with a dab of tamarind purée for a bit of acid and some granulated sugar, honey or dates for sweetness. Or, mix the porridge with kefir for a drinkable version (see Tips).
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings
- 2cups shelled and skinned raw peanuts
- ½cup short-grain white rice, such as sushi rice
- 4selim seed pods (see Tips)
- 1teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾teaspoon kosher salt
- ½teaspoon ground cinnamon, or 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
- ¼teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ¼teaspoon ground cayenne or 1 whole dried cayenne pepper
- ⅛teaspoon ground cloves or ¼ teaspoon whole cloves
- Tamarind paste (see Tips) and granulated sugar, honey or chopped dates, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Preparation
Step
1
Place the raw peanuts and rice in separate bowls, and add enough water to cover each by 2 inches. Soak at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
Step
2
Drain the peanuts and transfer to a blender. Pour in 2 cups room-temperature water and purée on high speed until smooth. Strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer or a sieve lined with muslin or two layers of cheesecloth, into a medium pot. Return the solids to the blender and combine with another 2 cups room-temperature water. Blend on high until puréed. Repeat the straining process, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. The remaining solids should be dry and crumbly. Discard the solids. You should have 4 cups of peanut milk in the pot.
Step
3
Drain the rice and transfer to the blender (no need to wash). Pour in 2 cups room-temperature water and purée on high to grind the rice until smooth.
Step
4
To the pot of peanut milk, add the selim seed pods, ginger, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne and cloves. Heat the milk and spices over medium, whisking frequently, until steam begins to rise from the surface, about 6 minutes. If using ground spices, continue to the next step. If using whole spices, including selim pods, turn off the heat, cover and allow the spices to steep for up to 10 minutes. Remove the spices with a slotted spoon after steeping.
Step
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Turn the heat to medium-low and whisk in the ground rice purée. Cook, stirring frequently until the mixture is thick enough for your whisk to leave a faint line as you drag it across the surface and any bubbles slowly rise to the surface, 8 minutes. Cover and simmer without stirring for about 4 minutes to fully cook the ground rice. Any coarse ground rice should be cooked through and soft, not starchy.
Step
6
Serve the porridge in bowls that are warm or at room temperature. Top with a spoonful of tamarind paste for a slightly tangy finish and sweeten with granulated sugar, honey or chopped dates.
Tips
- To make a drinkable version of this porridge, stir another 1 cup water into the pot after adding the ground rice at the beginning of Step 5, then cook as directed. Allow to cool to room temperature. To serve, thin the porridge by whisking together equal parts cooked porridge and plain whole-milk kefir or drinkable yogurt. Ladle into mugs and stir in a spoonful of granulated sugar or a drizzle of honey to sweeten.
- Selim seed pods, also known as uda seeds or grains of selim pods, are typically sold as whole spices. They can be purchased online, at local African markets or from any stores that specialize in spices.
- Tamarind can be bought as whole pods or pulp to make your own paste or as a concentrate or purée. It’s available online and at African, Indian or Asian grocery stores. If using pods or pulp, follow this recipe to make your own paste. If using prepared paste, taste it before stirring into the finished porridge and thin it with hot water, if you’d like.
Ratings
4
out of 5
413
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Cooking Notes
Ljoeba
wonder by what I could replace the selim seeds, because I can,t by them here..
Lemonzestlife
How about starting with some ready made almond milk? Maybe not traditional but much more accessible
Caro
It’s critical to use raw peanuts which can be found at many culture-focused grocery stores (think halal markets, Asian grocers etc). Roasted peanuts or peanut butter have a completely different taste profile and won’t import the sweetness necessary. This recipe brings me back to my visits to Senegal and The Gambia when we would top it with sour yogurt and coarse sugar. Lovely comfort food!
Ire
Don’t use brown rice. You will not get good results. If you must use brown rice, soak it for at least 8 hrs or preferably overnight.
Barbara
Put whole spices in a cheesecloth bag or a small tea ball. Much easier to handle when you are ready to remove them.
Deejay
Love this recipe! I’ve enjoyed this two ways—as a porridge with date syrup drizzled over the top, and as a beverage thinned with kefir in a blender with a banana. Delicious, nourishing, and especially ideal for breakfast. The second time I made this I included a vanilla bean which really upped the flavor. I really love being able to experiment with recipes outside my knowledge and comfort zone!
Julie Buckley
I am allergic to peanuts so, I made this with the 4 cups of almond milk. It was very good!
rmhk
can it be done with almonds? I have a peanut allergy..
LeeLee
Any suggestion for a substitute for selim seed pods? I don't believe they're available where I live (Rio de Janeiro).
Brittany
Try maybe nutmeg and white pepper, ginger and black pepper, or pink peppercorns. Since this is for something with a sweeter consistency, I'm just guessing since I've only used it in savory things. I live in Tampa and we have African and Indian grocers here. Maybe check next time you go into a city? I'd pull up a picture on your phone since different people have different words for the same foods. Good luck!
Pamela
@Mike Czechowski :::: I found information that Selim was used as a black pepper substitute even as recently as WWII. I bet you could use black pepper as a substitute. Although the spice site that I checked said that Selim has a smoky flavor as it is cured over smoke. I am going to use black pepper, because it would be hard to get here in Japan…
Brittany
If you can't find selim, it has various other names too (Wikipedia outlines them): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grains_of_SelimThere are quite a few online retailers, if you can't find them locally in an African or Indian market.
G. Greyzone
I made this exactly as described, including the peanut milk - had to order the selim pods - and it was totally worth it. I thought it was absolutely amazing and delicious.
Val
When I made it, the texture wasn't like rice pudding at all. The rice got almost entirely broken down in the blender and it was super smooth and creamy, which was very pleasant.
Pandora
I made it with Pink Peppercorns and they were really good!
Moco
If you're finding it hard to get ahold of some tamarind check your local latin stores too. We use it to make a sweet tamarind drink so you can usually find it there as well.
tme portland
Made 5 ½ cups w/ a shortened recipe. 1242/ 1.5 = 226 per cup. For this batch only.
Kenton
You can find selim seeds on Amazon.Good Farmer Foods Hwentia Spice African Grains of Selim, Uda Diarr Xylopia Aethiopica Herb
Jeremy
This recipe is amazingly good. I had no idea what to expect and was extremely impressed. The tamarind sauce was key! So good. We topped it with chopped dates, toasted almonds for crunch, golden raisins, brown sugar, the tamarind sauce (paste combined with honey and thinned with water), honey, and a scant amount of freshly ground salt. Truly comforting and delicious! Next time I may add a little Chinese Five Spice.
Diane
How long could this be kept in the fridge? Is it Freezable? Does anyone know the calorie count? TIA
Laura
This was delicious. I ordered grains of selim online from Ghana via Etsy last year for another recipe (black-eyed pea stew). Fairly easy with a high-powered blender but squeezing nut milk is always a little labor-intensive. Required constant stirring not to stick to bottom of pan.
mica
You can add some eggs and peanut butter to de raw peanuts pâte, I’m guessing here, but you should get some super crunchy cookies
lbeach
Made this *almost* to the recipe. Subbed cardamom & peppercorns for selim, added vanilla bean, cooked longer at each step. End result: quite tasty dish, esp w/ tamarind. Like NYT chai recipe, i felt spices didn't have enough time to permeate. VERY thick! NOTE: if shelling, no Valencias! - Skinning process - rubbing with a dishtowel (nope), rubbing together in plastic bag (nope) - only after soaking, by hand:( & use dried peanut solids for breading, p. flour, in hummus (sub for garbanzo), etc.
Ruth
I’ve never tasted anything like this before. It was delicious! I drizzled date syrup and tamarind paste on top for a fabulous sweet/tart addition. Thank you for expanding my culinary horizons!!
G. Greyzone
I made this exactly as described, including the peanut milk - had to order the selim pods - and it was totally worth it. I thought it was absolutely amazing and delicious.
Leanne
For sourcing selim, I found and bought the seeds from snuk foods. Kalustyans might also stock this.
Gene Judge
Have this at Step 4 as I write. My worry is the rice "puree." The consistency of the rice--after being pureed in the blender--is like milk, very liquid, with some sandy looking grainy rice at the bottom. Nothing that resembles a "puree." Will a lot of thickening happen at Step 5? Went to Amazon for the selim. When I use up the selim pods, I will take one responder's suggestion that black pepper will serve just as well. Any help regarding the loose looking rice "puree is appreciated.
Su
I've had a similar experience trying to grind rice in an underpowered blender. Unfortunately, even soaked rice needs a good blender to break down. I'm afraid that us-folks with the basic not-great blenders sold in the US can't achieve the texture this recipe requires.
Val
Was able to find all the necessary ingredients in my small city. With regards to the selim pods I don't know if I was tasting them or if it was a blend of the tamarind and cayenne creating that flavor. If I make it again I might hold off on the cayenne until the very end to so I can discern the pods' particular taste better. If selim is the only ingredient you can't get, I think you could enjoy this with black peppercorns (or white, green or pink if you have them) as a substitute.
EKSmith
I use peanut flour for baking-- thinking I might try that for this recipe. Has anyone modified to try it without the selim?
Gene Judge
I ordered the selim pods from Amazon. On opening the package, I smell black pepper. That's what I will use when I run out of the selim pods. Black pepper kernels will do the same job. IMHO.
Kate-e
I wonder whether one could jsut flavor a favorite rice pudding recipe with these spices and a few tablespoons of peanut butter. Or almond butter, for those who were asking.
Val
When I made it, the texture wasn't like rice pudding at all. The rice got almost entirely broken down in the blender and it was super smooth and creamy, which was very pleasant.
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