Funchi is a local cornmeal side dish for soup or sauce in Aruba, a small island in the Caribbean. All you need is maize flour, water, butter, and salt to taste. Funchi is served with fried fish and a sauce or local soup.
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This Aruba dish is a thick cornmeal porridge left to harden and served with other side dishes.
While the funchi is indigenous to the Caribbean, the dish is similar to the local dish of the Anlo tribe in the Volta Region of Ghana. The dish is called Wokple in Ghana, traditionally prepared in a similar manner but without butter and served with a special soup called Ademe detsi or hot sauce with fried herrings.
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Where Is Aruba?
Aruba is a former colony of the Dutch. It’s a small island situated in the south of the Caribbean Sea and north of Venezuela. It was part of the Netherlands Antilles until 1986. The colony obtained independent status from the Kingdom of the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands still manages Aruba’s foreign affairs.
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The island is an ideal destination for vacationers and tourists, endowed with beautiful white beaches, sunlight, and minerals.
The economy of Aruba is influenced by tourism and the export of fuel. Aruba citizens speak Papiamento, English, Dutch, and Spanish.
How To Prepare Funchi
Ingredients
- 3 cups of maize flour
- 4 cups of water
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ tbsp salt
Instructions
- Boil the water with butter, a handful of maize flour, and salt.
- Add the rest of the flour, one cup at a time, once the water begins to boil.
- Start mixing and stirring with a wooden spatula to achieve a semi-solid funchi
- Lower the heat and continue to turn the funchi around in the cooking pot. You can do this by mixing vertically—from the top to down then pressing the funchi against the pot with the spatula. Also, turn the funchi circularly to achieve consistency. This is to ensure there’s no lump in the funchi.
- Mix until it’s soft and smooth.
- Transfer it to a bowl or plate, and allow it to cool.
- Cut into slides and sauté until brown on both sides (optional)
- Serve with sauce or soup
Tips for Preparing and Serving Funchi
- You can serve funchi with a sauce of your choice, fried fish, and vegetables.
- While many citizens sauté the funchi to make it crispy, you can skip that step.
- Use authentic funchi maize flour to achieve consistency. Add some hot water to soften if it’s too hard, or add flour to harden if it’s too soft.
- Garnish funchi with vegetables for a balanced diet.
Nutrional Value of Funchi
- Cornmeals like funchi are rich in carbohydrates, minerals, protein, and fibre. Maize flour also has beneficial amounts of potassium, phosphorus, iron, magnesium, and starch.
- The news is maize flour is gluten-free. It contains medicinal oils in the corn germ, such as unsaturated acid and Vitamins A and E.
- You can use maize flour to reduce bad cholesterol levels because of the presence of dietary fibre.
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Video Credit: ArubaBonbini
This YouTube channel shares recipes from around the world.
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Aruba Funchi
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups of maize flour
- 4 cups of water
- 2 tbsp butter
- ½ tbsp salt
Instructions
- Boil the water with butter, a handful of maize flour, and salt.
- Add the rest of the flour, one cup at a time, once the water begins to boil.
- Start mixing and stirring with a wooden spatula to achieve a semi-solid funchi
- Lower the heat and continue to turn the funchi around in the cooking pot. You can do this by mixing vertically—from the top to down then pressing the funchi against the pot with the spatula. Also, turn the funchi circularly to achieve consistency. This is to ensure there’s no lump in the funchi.
- Mix until it’s soft and smooth.
- Transfer it to a bowl or plate, and allow it to cool.
- Cut into slides and sauté until brown on both sides (optional)
- Serve with sauce or soup
Video
Nutrition
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