Cattle Rearing and Traditional Fulani Foods

On the day of Eid el Fitr, I wanted to go to the mosque to experience the service on such a special occasion. However because of COVID, I thought it won’t be smart to be in such a crowded space. So I opted to stay home in the morning. However in the afternoon after prayers, I decided to go on a suya hunt since fasting was over.

It’s quite easy to distinguish Fulani food from Hausa food. We all know that Fulani people are traditionally cattle rearers so a lot of their traditional food is gotten from cows.

So let's explore some traditional Fulani foods!

1. Suya is grilled meat. Suya has become of the popular foods in Nigeria. Everyone around the country loves it and even a lot of foreigners. We now also have different types of suya like chicken, ram and gizzard.

On this occasion, I opted for the beef suya. Eating suya in Kano felt like eating it at the source. The meat was a bit salty so I was bit disappointed about that but the meat was great.

Here's a video I posted on Instagram of my full suya experience in Kano! https://www.instagram.com/reel/CPVhC-Wl32a/

2. Fura de Nono

The next day at the Emir’s palace, I was offered fura de nono and happily wanted to try it. Fura is made out of millet while nono is yoghurt. Again, food gotten from cows. The fura and nono are mixed together and drank. It tasted great but I’m not used to the millet in yoghurt so it was hard for me to finish.

Image Source: Twitter @fulanichef

3. Killishi is dried beef. The process of making killishi is very interesting. The meat is sliced and spiced then dried in the sun. It is a very popular snack all over Nigeria.

Image Source: Funke Kolesho

4. Dambu nama is dried shredded beef. This is another popular snack but not as popular as Killishi.

If you've tried some of these foods, which of the foods is your favorite?