What it is
A soft, sticky swallow made by cooking rice, often broken or overcooked, and mashing it into a smooth, rounded mass. It is paler and less elastic than cassava swallows, with a mild, slightly starchy taste that takes on the flavour of whichever soup it is served with.
Key ingredients
- Rice
- Water
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten with the fingers, small portions are shaped and dipped into a accompanying soup before swallowing. It is most often served with northern soups such as miyan kuka (baobab leaf soup) or miyan taushe (pumpkin soup), and appears at everyday meals as well as at gatherings.
Cultural significance
Tuwo shinkafa is a staple swallow of northern Nigeria, particularly among Hausa communities, where rice-based tuwo is an everyday food eaten with soups such as miyan kuka or miyan taushe. It reflects the northern preference for rice and grain swallows over cassava, which is less commonly grown in the drier north.
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