~289 cal · 9g protein · 64g carbs · 3g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Calabash of cloudy sorghum beer
🇧🇯 Cotonou
Tchoukoutou is Benin's traditional sorghum beer, brewed by women from malted red sorghum and served warm and cloudy from calabashes at markets and ceremonies. Low in alcohol and pleasantly sour, it is as much a social ritual as a drink, poured from a shared gourd among friends.
Sign in to save recipes to your book and leave reviews.
Make it yours
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
Ingredients
Serves 8 —
•
4 cups red sorghum, malted and ground
•
12 cups water
•
2 tbsp sugar (to feed the ferment)
•
1/4 cup wild yeast starter (from a previous batch)
Instructions
1
Simmer the malted sorghum in the water for about an hour, stirring, to draw out the sweetness.
2
Strain the liquid (wort) and let it cool to just warm to the touch.
3
Stir in the sugar and the wild yeast starter, then cover and ferment in a warm place 1–2 days.
4
When cloudy, tangy, and lightly fizzy, serve warm or cool from a shared calabash.
Beninese market and ceremony tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Sign in to rate this recipe once you’ve cooked it.
No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Cotonou. Benin's bustling seaside city of red-sauced cornmeal.
🗺️
Benin. Birthplace of Vodun and of cornmeal simmered in red sauce.
🌍
Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
More from Benin
Amiwo
Cornmeal cooked directly in a spiced red tomato-and-pepper sauce, served with braised chicken.
Ablo
Soft, slightly sweet steamed rice-and-corn cakes eaten plain or with a spicy sauce for breakfast.