Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Fura da Nono
Spiced millet dough balls broken into cool soured milk and sweetened, the iconic Hausa-Fulani breakfast drink-meal of Niger.
Nigerien · medium · serves 4
prep 20 min · cook 20 min
~469 cal · 15g protein · 80g carbs · 9g fat · 7g fiber · 19g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Fura da nono is a Fulani and Hausa refreshment of the Sahel, 'fura,' balls of spiced, ground dough, crumbled into 'nono,' cow's milk, to make a nourishing, tangy drink-meal. It is a staple of pastoral communities across Niger and northern Nigeria.
The balls, often flavored with ginger and cloves, are broken up and stirred into the sour milk, creating something between a drink and a light porridge. Rich in grain and dairy, it is sustaining food ideal for herders and travelers.
Sold by vendors and made in homes around Niamey, fura da nono is a Fulani drink of balls broken into sour milk, refreshing and filling.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and gluten-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 cups flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp black pepper or cayenne
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
3 cups nono (soured milk)
3 tbsp sugar, to taste
Instructions
1
Mix the millet flour with the ginger, cloves, pepper, and salt, then work in just enough warm water to make a stiff, moldable dough.
2
Roll the dough into small balls and steam them over simmering water until firm and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
3
Pound or mash a few balls into a paste, then work them back with the rest and a little water until smooth.
4
Break the fura into bowls of soured milk, sweeten to taste, and stir to a thick drinkable porridge.
Fulani-Hausa tradition, Niamey and the Sahel.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Niamey. Dambou is festival food rather than an everyday plate: it belongs to the Zarma and Songhai of the southwest and it appears at weddings and naming ceremonies. The moringa leaves are boiled first, then folded through the steamed grain with peanut and oil.
🗺️
Niger. Dambou is steamed couscous of millet or another grain with boiled moringa leaves, peanut and oil, and it is not made from cassava. It belongs to the Zarma and Songhai of the southwest and is festive rather than everyday. Fura da nono is the Hausa and Fulani drink-meal: millet balls crumbled into soured milk and drunk from a bowl.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Niger
DambouSteamed grain tossed with moringa leaves, tomato, and oil, a light, nourishing dish of Niger.
Dan WakeSoft bean-flour dumplings tossed with oil, spice, and onion, a popular Hausa street lunch of Niger.
Alkaki (Fried Wheat Sweet)Crushed wheat kneaded with milk and butter, shaped, fried and soaked in tamarind sugar syrup, a Zinder speciality.
Browse all Niger recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Thickens as it sits. Reheat with extra water or milk to loosen, and keep 2 to 3 days refrigerated.
Make it a Niger meal
Kunun Aya (Tiger Nut Milk)Drink
Alkaki (Fried Wheat Sweet)Dessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Fura da Nono?
Spiced millet dough balls broken into cool soured milk and sweetened, the iconic Hausa-Fulani breakfast drink-meal of Niger.
Where does Fura da Nono come from?
Fura da Nono is a Nigerien dish from Niamey, Niger.
Can Fura da Nono be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Fura da Nono recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Fura da Nono safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Fura da Nono take to make?
About 40 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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