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Gote acha is another comfort food you will love to prepare at any time of the day, it is simple to make and it is called by different names such as pete acha, fonio, gote, gwote, or hungry man rice .etc. Gote acha is very rich, healthy and packed with a lot of nutritious vegetables and grains. It has its own unique taste: savory, sour, tangy- a wonderful taste that comes from the combinations of different ingredients and vegetables.

Acha (Digitaira spp) also known as Fonio or Hungry man rice is commonly cultivated by some West African countries such as Gambia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso and Nigeria (Plateau state). Acha (Fonio) can be used for making bread, weaning food for babies, Tuwo Acha (eba with acha),Gote Acha and Acha Pudding. In our write-up today,we will be listing down the simple ways to make healthy Gote Acha or acha porridge (fonio Porridge).

Gote acha recipe traditionally is quite easy and simple to prepare; the traditional people cook this with just vegetables (basically with yakuwa/sorrel leaves, some bitter garden eggs and without seasonings), but you could upgraded this recipe by adding your preferred seasonings, meat and other healthy ingredients just like I did in the picture above.

In addition, it is traditionally served like porridge in a calabash bowl and a calabash spoon . follow the steps below and learn how to prepare gwote acha.

Gote acha Ingredients

• Cartilages (biscuit bones)/Fish or Meat. (or used all)
• 1 Tinmilk cupof Acha (fonio grains)
• 4 Ripe tomatoes (4 medium sizes, diced)
• Fresh garden eggs (4 Medium sizes, diced)
• Cabbage (half of the ball, shredded)
• Raw peanuts (1 cup)
• Spinach(spring onions,Yakwa (sorrel), green amaranth I used 3 different leaves such as, spring onions, yakwa and green.
• 1 Bulbonion
• 2 Tablespoons groundnut oil (1big spoon), optional
• 1 Tablespoon ground crayfish
• 2 Seasoning cubes
• 3 Scotch bonnet peppers
• Salt to taste
• A little traditional spice can be added (Okpei/Dawadawa)

Ingredients for making gote acha

Steps on how to cookgote acha

1. Wash acha grains severally to remove sand and then keep aside.
2. Season the meat (cartilages) with 1 maggi, onions, pepper and salt and cook until it is soft.
3. Add two cups of water to the meat and bring to a boil or enough the cook the quantity of acha you have.
4. Add the coarsely broken peanuts (groundnuts), garden eggs and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.
5. Add the washed acha, onions, crayfish, 1 maggi, and stir with a spatula so that it doesnt clump together.
6. Stir the porridge for about 5 minutes and taste for salt and pepper, then cover and leave to cook for another 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.
7. Once gote acha has thickened and has become soft, add the shredded cabbage, stir and cook for 2 minutes.
8. Add the other vegetables (green amaranth, yakwa/sorrel and the spring onions and stir it properly.
9. Cook gote acha for 3 minutes and then take it off from the stove and serve warm.

Easy steps on how to cookgote acha with pictures

1. Wash acha grains severally to remove sand and then keep aside.

2. Season the meat (cartilages) with 1 maggi, onions, pepper and salt and cook until it is soft.

Cooking of meat for gote acha

3. Add two cups of water to the meat and bring to a boil or enough the cook the quantity of acha you have.

The water should be enough to cook the amount of acha you have

4. Add the coarsely broken peanuts (groundnuts), garden eggs and tomatoes and cook for 10 minutes.

The tomatoes, garden eggs and the raw peanuts should be added at this time, so they can cook little bit longer before other vegetables

5. Add the washed acha, onions, crayfish, 1 maggi, and stir with a spatula so that it doesnt clump together.

6. Stir the porridge for about 5 minutes and taste for salt and pepper, then cover and leave to cook for another 5 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Once acha grain is added, stir the content occasionally to prevent it from clumping together

7. Once gote acha has thickened and has become soft, add the shredded cabbage, stir and cook for 2 minutes.

Adding of veggies to gote acha

8. Add the other vegetables (green amaranth, yakwa/sorrel and the spring onions and stir. dont overcook the vegetable, stir it properly.

Stirring of gote acha

9. Cook gote acha for 3 minutes and then take it off from the stove and serve warm.

Tasty gote acha