Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) is one of our most beloved dishes in The Gambia. It is easy to cook using three main ingredients, Raw Peanuts, rice and water. It is a hearty and comforting porridge with a delicate balance of nuttiness.
Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) is a Gambian porridge made by, pounding raw red peanuts with rice using a traditional wooden mortar and pestle. The mixture is added to a pot with water and slowly simmered until you have a thick delicious nutty porridge. But for this recipe, I will be using a blender because I do not have access to a traditional wooden Mortar and pestle. My grandparents had a rice field, so every year we used to have freshly harvested rice which was predominately used for making Churra Gerte. Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) is normally served for breakfast or sometimes dinner. However, you can eat it any time of the day. Back home my mum loves making it during the rainy season, especially when it rains. So this will be perfect for the autumn-winter season.
If you love this recipe, please give Date and Banana porridge a try. You can serve the Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) in brunch with a refreshing Bissap (Hibiscus Juice) or Tamarind Juice.
Ingredients
- Raw Red Peanuts: This is the most important ingredient for making this dish Without the Peanuts there is no Churra Gerte. This must be blended with the skin intact until you have a fine ground meal.
- Jasmin Rice: I prefer using Jasmin rice because I do not have access to freshly harvested rice.
- Water: Without the water, there is no porridge, so this is a must.
Please see the recipe card for the quantities.
Instructions
Step 1: Blend the red peanuts until you have a fine ground meal.
Step 2: Add the blended peanut and rice to a large cooking pot.
Step 3: Add water and salt to the pan.
Step 6: The porridge will start boiling and thicken, continue to stir it gently.
Step 8: The Porridge is cooked, now add the desiccated coconut, sugar and Raisins.
Step 4: Bring the pot to boil on medium to low heat. After about 12mins foam will start forming at the top.
Step 7: The porridge is almost ready.
Step 9: When the Churra Gerte is ready, there will be a thin mesh forming on top.
Substitutions
- Jasmin rice - instead of Jasmin rice you can use pudding rice or your favourite rice to make the porridge. However, I prefer the Jasmin rice due to its taste and fragrance.
Storage
Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) can be stored in a tight-lid container and stored in the fridge for a maximum of one week. I would not recommend freezing because it is best served when it is freshly made.
FAQ
It is a Gambian porridge made with blended peanuts and rice, simmered down until you have a thick porridge. It tastes slightly nutty and earthy and very delicious.
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Recipe
Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice porridge)
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 5 1x
Description
Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) is one of our most beloved dishes in The Gambia. It is easy to cook using three main ingredients, Raw Peanuts, rice and water. It is a hearty and comforting porridge with a delicate balance of nuttiness.
Ingredients
- 195 grams (1 cup) of Raw Red Peanuts with skin attached (Blended)
- 204 grams (1 cup) of Jasmin rice
- 2.4 litres of Water
- Half a Teaspoon of salt
- 1 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
- 1 Teaspoon of Organic Vanilla Bean Paste
- ½ cup of sugar
- ⅔ cup of Desiccated Coconut (Optional)
- ⅔ cup of Raisins (Optional)
Instructions
- In a large cooking pot, add the Blended peanuts, rice, water and salt. Bring it to a boil over medium heat. Stirring continuously with a wooden spoon to avoid the Churra Gerte burning.
- At about 12 minutes in, it will start thickening and foam will start forming on top. Continue to gently stir and let it slowly simmer.
- At the beginning when it starts bubbling furiously, the foam will rise a few times, be careful because the bubbles can burn you. Continue to gently stir to avoid it burning.
- At about 30 minutes in, the porridge will get thicker, so continue to gently stir. By now there might be a caramelised layer forming at the bottom, but that is okay. What is not okay is when it gets burned, so continue stirring, if the heat is too much reduce it to low.
- At about 40 minutes in the rice has cooked and the peanut is nearly cooked, reduce the heat to low and half cover the pot with its lid whenever you are not stirring.
- When it's about 15 minutes left, add the Raisins, desiccated coconut and sugar, and gently mix it in until it is thoroughly combined. When a fine mesh starts forming on top of the Churra Gerte, it is cooked. Off the flame and let it rest to cool down.
- Now you can serve the Churra Gerte cold, warm or hot. Serve it with natural Greek yoghurt and evaporated milk or just choose either. If you want to be fancy, garnish with your favourite nuts. You can also just enjoy it without the evaporated milk, yoghurt or nuts. Bonne petite.
Notes
The secret to making this delicious porridge is patience and stirring at the beginning. Be very careful when cooking the Churra Gerte (Peanut and Rice Porridge) because of the bubbling at the beginning which could potentially burn you.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 1 Hour
- Category: Dessert/Mains
- Method: Simmer
- Cuisine: African (Gambian)