Kitchen How-Tos

Last week I had someone ask me what is nyimo. I sometimes forget that other people have never seen them before. The English name is bambara nuts, like peanuts they are not nuts. They grow in the soil. In Zimbabwe, they are usually boiled when they are fresh or dried.

I made some milk with nyimo earlier. I wasn’t even sure if it would work and it did.
I was so excited to share the recipe with you. One of the things that made me excited other than successfully making the milk was the opportunity this presented. Nyimo and peanuts are usually grown by women. Very few people I know will grow them to sell. So, what if nyimo milk could be made at a commercial scale and the women who grow nyimo would be paid for it? I always think of the women first because both my grandmothers made it possible for my parents to go to school on the little income they would get from selling peanuts, nyimo and other farm produce.

Of course the milk itself would have to catch on. Which I think it will especially of you like soy milk.

I soaked a cup of nyimo in 2 cups of distilled water last night. Six hours would work too.

I added nyimo and the water to a blender and added four cups of water. I blended everything.

I strained through a muslin cloth until all the liquid was extracted.

Like any nut milk, nyimo milk has distinct nyimo smell and flavour. It will not be white since nyimo will come in so many shades; cream, maroon and black.

If you don’t have a blender, you can try using duri. I haven’t tried it so it may not work.