COPPERAsida recipe
In South Sudan and Sudan, asida is a firm sorghum porridge, often fermented overnight, turned out of a bowl and eaten savoury with a mullah stew rather than with sugar.
Ingredients
- 500 g sorghum flour
- 1000 ml water
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
How to make Asida
- Mix 500 g sorghum flour with 1000 ml water, 2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp plain yogurt, which acts as a starter. Cover and leave overnight at room temperature to ferment.
- The next day, taste the batter: it should be clearly sour.
- Bring 1000 ml water to a boil in a heavy pot.
- Pour the fermented batter into the boiling water and stir hard with a sturdy wooden spoon for 5 to 10 minutes over medium-low heat, until it turns into a thick, smooth mass. If it stays too soft, sprinkle in a little more sorghum flour while stirring.
- Grease a deep bowl with 1 tbsp oil, pack the asida into it and let it set for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Turn the asida out into a wider deep dish so it forms a dome, and pour a mullah stew (meat and tomato, or okra) around it.
- Eat it by cutting into the edges where the asida meets the stew; it is served without sugar or butter.
What is Asida?
Asida is a traditional dish from South Sudan, boiled, and takes about 12 hours and 40 minutes from start to finish. It is built around sorghum flour. The recipe below uses 5 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Asida take?
At 760 minutes it is slower than 83% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 6 dishes built on sorghum flour. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 30 minutes.
Any tips for making Asida?
Ferment the batter overnight until clearly sour, then stir it hard into boiling water until it forms a thick, smooth mass.
Cooked with the same thing elsewhere
Other traditional dishes built on sorghum flour, from other countries.
Copper documents South Sudan alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.