Madidi, The Food of the Alago People of Nasarawa State

Each person is born into a culture or group matrix that is usually reflected in food pattern. Food beliefs seem to be one of the factors influencing food consumption. This is why the food roots of an individual – be they geographical, cultural, religious, national, regional or cult oriented – influences his choice of foods.

The Alago ethnic group is one of the largest ethnic groups in present day Nasarawa State. They occupy three local governments in the state namely Obi, Keana, and Doma. They allegedly migrated from the defunct Jukun kingdom. They are predominantly farmers; millet, guinea corn, maize are some of the agricultural products of the people.

The people of Alago have a number of interesting delicacies. One of such delicacies is Madidi. Madidi is a thick porridge, gel-like fermented starchy food item made from millet. It is mainly consumed as breakfast. It is also used as a weaning cereal for babies. Madidi usually comes in two colours, white or brown. Traditionally, madidi production involves soaking of millet grains for one to three days in cold water, after which the soaked grains are wet milled into a paste and sieved. The smooth slurry is mixed with hot water, stirred until it gelatinizes and the gel-like food is wrapped in leaves before cooking. The final product looks like moi moi. Even though this meal can be eaten alone, the people of Alago usually eat Madidi with a native soup called ammah. Sometimes too, it is served with moi moi, kuli kuli, beans or bean cake.

Sources:

Ajayi, Feyisola Fisayo, Adgidzi, Eunice, Ogori, Friday and and Agbedejobi, Olufunke Omolade, “The Effect of Selected Packaging Materials and Storage Period on The Quality of “Madidi” -A Thick Porridge” Annals Food Science and Technology, Vol. 20, Issue 1, 2019, 1.

Ikrama Ibrahim, “Nigeria: The MDD Affair,” https://allafrica.com/stories/200211170025.html accessed on the 4th of September, 2019.

Featured Image Source: Alago Voice: Facebook

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udevi-obiamaka-angela

Udevi, Obiamaka Angela holds a Master of Arts degree in History & International Studies. She's a freelance writer with a passion for food and healthy living. She can be contacted through her email address, obiudevi@yahoo.com

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