Ting (Botswana Sour Sorghum Porridge)
In short: Sorghum meal fermented for a few days, then cooked into a smooth, tangy porridge, a traditional Botswana breakfast and a partner for seswaa. It takes about 35 min in total and makes 4 servings.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Resting
- 48 h
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 175 kcal
Ting is Botswana's sour porridge, made from sorghum meal that is left to ferment for a couple of days before it is cooked. The fermentation gives the porridge a gentle sourness, a little like sourdough, and a smooth, soft texture. It is eaten at breakfast with milk and sugar, or at the main meal with seswaa and greens. It is gluten-free, cheap and deeply traditional.
Instructions
- Whisk the sorghum flour and warm water in a very clean bowl or jar to a thick, smooth batter. Cover loosely with a clean cloth.
- Leave it at room temperature for 2 to 3 days (24 to 36 hours in a hot kitchen), stirring once a day with a clean spoon, until it smells pleasantly sour and looks bubbly on top.
- Bring the 700 ml (3 cups) of water and the salt to a boil in a heavy pot.
- Whisk in the fermented batter a little at a time, then lower the heat to medium-low. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until the porridge is smooth and thick and no longer tastes raw.
- Serve hot in bowls. Eat it with milk and sugar for breakfast, or plain beside seswaa and morogo.
Tips
- Sorghum flour is sold at health food stores and African grocers. Fine white maize meal also works and ferments faster, so start tasting after 24 hours.
- Stop the fermentation when the batter smells pleasantly sour, like yogurt or sourdough. Discard it if it shows fuzzy mold or colored streaks, or if it smells rotten.
Questions and answers
What does ting taste like?
Mildly sour and slightly earthy, like a thin sourdough porridge. Milk and sugar soften the sourness, while with meat it is usually eaten plain.
Is ting the same as bogobe?
Bogobe is the general word for porridge in Setswana. Ting is a sour version made from fermented sorghum or maize meal.
How do I know the ferment is ready?
It smells pleasantly sour, looks bubbly on the surface and has a thin layer of liquid on top. If it smells rotten or shows colored mold, throw it away and start again.
How long does it take to make Ting (Botswana Sour Sorghum Porridge)?
About 35 min in total: 10 min of preparation and 25 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Ting (Botswana Sour Sorghum Porridge)?
About 175 kcal per serving, with 5 g of protein, 37 g of carbohydrates and 2 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 175 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 37 g |
| Fat | 2 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 1 g |
| Sodium | 290 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
