Everyone in Nigeria grew up eating Tiger nuts. Ok that is an assumption but for most people we grew up eating it and we even called it “ofio” I think that’s the spelling. The mallams or abokis as people like to call them always hawked these yellow nuts in a wheelbarrow around the streets of Lagos, selling out one cup at a time. Anyway, it always came out a few weeks to rainy season. At least I always remembered eating it around March. Tiger nuts has a lot of benefits that we do not even realize and I’m increasingly realizing that a lot more can be done with it apart from chewing and spitting it out or swallowing it for the fiber property. I made some tiger nut milk by blending the tiger nuts and squeezing the juices out of it the same way you would do with coconut. This could be used in many desserts as it would add a different level of flavor to it. There are a few benefits of tiger nuts that I know and you can find them below;
Benefits of Tiger nuts
- It has the ability to help you get rid of excess fluid in the system thereby helping you lose water weight.
- It helps soothe the gums if you have ulcer of the gums
- It has a great anti-inflammatory property. It helps reduce inflammation in the body. It is especially good for people with arthritis or people suffering from gastro intestinal tract inflammation.
- It also has great protein content and is a good source of vitamin E and we all know the benefits of Vitamin E.
- It contains great minerals like Iron and potassium and Iron is especially important for women so please take note.
See Kunun Aya Recipe
Side note from some Twitter followers:
*It’s called ‘aya’ in northern Nig. Many believe it’s an aphrodisiac, thus it mostly prepard for new brides esp.
*in Ghana we call it “esuro wisa” (Twi). Apparently it’s a sexual stimulant. Think of the West African version of Viagra LOL
*Another Ghanian says it is called Atta dwe
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