Kunu is a popular drink from the Northern part of Nigeria. But because of the its natural sweetness the consumption of kunu has spread round Nigeria. It is usually made from a grain such as millet or sorghum, Tiger nuts and rice.
Kunu made from millet is called Kunu zaki and kunu made from rice is called Kunu gyada. lt can also be made from maize as well. It has a spicy nutty flavor that distinguishes from other drinks. Kunu has a range of nutritional benefits.
👉The miillet used in preparing kunu contains a polynutrient called lignam which has cancer fighting properties and is beneficial in the treatment of heart disease.
🍶🍶🍶HOW TO MAKE KUNU DRINK🍶🍶🍶
Kunu drink is made from millet, sweet potato, cloves, water and sugar. Other variations of Kunu drink replace millet with rice (Kunu Gyada) or with Tiger Nuts (Kunu Aya).
Ingredients
✔️3 cups of tiger nuts
✔️ 3 cups of millets
✔️ 1 tablespoon of ginger (fresh or dried)
✔️ 10 Dates (Or less)
✔️ Sweet potato
✔️ 1 Coconut (Crack the shell and extract the flesh for blending)
✔️ 1 teaspoon of Cloves (Konofiri)
✔️ 2 litres of water
✔️ Sugar or any compliant sweetener of your choice
Preparation
👉Pour the millet in a flat tray shake the mullets to separate sands and stones from the millet and do same for the tiger nuts.
DIRECTIONS
👉Step 1: Soak the tiger nuts in clean water overnight (if you are using the dry tigernuts) and also soak the millet over night
👉 Step 2: Wash thoroughly with clean water and place the millet, tiger nuts, dates, sweet potato, Ginger, Cloves & coconut in a blender (You need one with sharp blades) and blend till you have a smooth paste making sure you add water while blending.
👉 Step 3: Place the blend in a large bowl and pour cold water over the paste and mix. Gently pour the slurry into the sieving bag and sieve the mixture.
👉 Step 4: Leave the sieved out liquid to settle for about 6 hours, by then the clear liquid would be above the sediment (thick paste below). Sieve the clear liquid leaving the settled mixture which should be thick.
👉Step 5: Divide the paste into two bowls. Pour boiling water over the content of bowl 1 and stir (As if you are preparing pap). Add the content of bowl 2 into bowl 1. At this stage you can add as much water as you want depending on how thick or watery you want your kunu.
👉Step 6: Add sugar or any compliant sweetener.
👉 Refrigerate and Serve Chilled.
I'll recommend a chilled glass of kunu rather than some alcoholic drink or soda.
🍶🍶HEALTH BENEFIT OF DRINKING KUNU🍶🍶
🍶👫Helps to control diabetes
Kunu is also known to reduce the risk associated with diabetes.
🍶🧒👦👩🤱Good for lactating mothers
It is also good for nursing mothers as it helps the flow of milk for breast feeding
🍶👭Helps women that are post and present menopause
Kunu is also good for women that have reached the stage of menopause as it helps in relaxation of muscles. The key ingredient in milet is known as Lignin, helps fight cancer and treats heart diseases.
🍶🤰🤰Kunu Drink has significant health benefits for pregnant women.
The reason is simple: it creates a magic ingredient. The magic ingredient is the “super-food”, ginger, that offers a range of benefits for pregnant women. Ginger improves the blood circulation in the body. This is important so that you’re baby will get the right level of blood supply. All pregnant women know that nausea is a common symptom during the first trimester. The ginger in Kunu Drink can settle your stomach and help reduce nausea. Pregnancy causes the muscles in the digestive tract to relax and, therefore, food will travel through the intestines at a slower rate. The result is serious indigestion and bloating. The ginger in Kunu Drink will help reduce problems with bloating and constipation.
🍶👬 Boost Your Sperm Count
Kunu Drink contains sweet potato (another so-called “super-food” by the way). Sweet potato is filled with very high levels of vitamin C. In one large sweet potato of 180g, there is 35.3g of vitamin C. And that’s great news if you’re looking to increase your sperm count. Expecially kunu Aya that contains dates and coconut.
Recent studies have reported that vitamin C is an antioxidant that has the “power to neutralize sperm-busting free radicals”. Advantages of vitamin C include reducing the risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease and eye problems.
🍶🍶Lose Weight With Kunu Drink
You might feel like you’re getting to grips with understanding the nutritional value of Kunu drink.
🙄Is Kunu drink fattening?
To be honest, this is a difficult question to answer. Because like all types of food, the answer depends on how much Kunu drink you consume and how much sugar or other sweeteners you add. Quantity of ingredients should be considered when watching your weight. The great thing about Kunu drink (when Taken in moderation can actually help you lose weight While on a low Carb lifestyle.
It does this due to its core ingredient: 'Millet' This nutritious grain contains high levels of protein and allows you to meet your daily protein requirements without eating meat.
🍶🍶Sooth Colds And Coughs With Kunu Drink
Kunu drink is usually served in Nigeria with cloves, which brings us to the next health benefit: it soothes colds and coughs.
Yes, cloves are well known for their medicinal properties. And according to Health.com: “Cloves work as an expectorant, loosening mucus in the throat and esophagus so you can cough it up” Next time you have a cold or cough, try drinking Kunu drink with lots of cloves and you may feel the benefits.
🍶🍶 Protect Your Heart with Kunu Drink
Kunu drink offers excellent protection for your heart due to the use of millet.Millet contains a lot of magnesium and potassium and both of these minerals play an important role in reducing blood pressure.
You probably know that having high blood pressure increases the risk of having a stroke or heart attack. So Kunu drink can be great for your heart as it actually reduces blood pressure.
Kunu Drink also contains high levels of Vitamin B3 due to its millet content. Some doctors argue that Vitamin B3 can help your heart by increasing the good cholestral in your body
🍶🍶It relieves digestive discomfort
The ginger present in a kunu helps to relieve digestive problems such as nausea, loss of appetite, motion sickness and pain. Kunu is also recommended for nursing mothers as it helps to increase the flow of milk due to the ginger content.
🍶🍶It lowers cholesterol level
Kunu is known to lowers the cholesterol level and prevents the formation of blood clots.
🍶🍶Contains Healthy Fiber
Kunu also contain fibre, which helps in thesmooth digestive system. It helps in the prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Kunu ia also rich in protein, carbohydrates and vitamins especially vitamin B.
🍶🍶In addition, the sweet potatoes which is one of the ingredients for the production of Kunu contains about 100-1,600 micrograms of vitamin A. As it helps to raise the blood levels of vitamin A which is essential for pregnancy and lactation. The content of magnesium and potassium make sweet potatoes in to regulate proper maintenance of the heart, managementof stress and controlling of blood sugar level among other nutritional benefits.
🍶 It deals with thirst and serves as an appetizer.
🍶 Kunu helps to prevent chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.