Lesotho traditional fermented sorghum drink — sorghum meal cooked into a thin porridge, then fermented 1-3 days with naturally-occurring lactic-acid bacteria into a slightly sour, refreshing, non-alcoholic drink. The traditional Basotho cool-mountain beverage.
Motoho is the Sesotho fermented sorghum drink, a thin, slightly sour porridge-like beverage that's the traditional non-alcoholic refreshment of Lesotho. The lactic-acid fermentation gives it a probiotic character.
Sip a cold cup of motoho — pale-cream thin porridge-drink, slightly cloudy, with a fresh tangy smell. Take a long swallow: refreshingly sour like buttermilk-meets-thin-oatmeal, the sorghum's mild grain flavor providing body, the lactic-acid tang cleansing the palate. Slightly chalky from the meal. Cooling on a hot Maseru afternoon; nourishing for the working farmer at lunch break. This is the Basotho traditional beverage in its purest form.
The 'starter' inoculates lactic-acid bacteria that ferment the sorghum starches into lactic acid, producing the characteristic sour flavor. Warm temperatures (room or slightly warmer) speed fermentation; refrigeration slows it. Cloth covering prevents contamination while allowing CO2 to escape.
Variations
Motoho with millet (millet motoho). With added sugar. With honey. Stronger fermented version (longer fermentation). With added ginger (warming). With added vanilla (modern).
On the Palate
Where Motoho sits in the Lesotho flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 8How it's made
8 steps · 20 min active + 1 day 23 hours 40 min waiting
- 15 min
Bring 1.5 L water to a boil in a heavy pot.
- 22 min
Mix 200 g sorghum meal with 200 ml cold water into a smooth slurry.
- 313 min
Whisk slurry into boiling water; cook 12 min over low heat to make a thin porridge.
Watch outWhisk hard as the slurry hits the boil so no lumps form; cook until it just coats the spoon like a thin porridge, no thicker.
- 42 min
Add 50 g sorghum-meal 'starter' (commercially available, or use 100 ml unpasteurized yogurt as substitute for the lactic-acid culture).
Watch outStir the starter in only once the porridge is warm-not-hot; too much heat kills the lactic culture and it won't sour.
- 55 min
Cool to lukewarm (40°C). Transfer to a clay pot or glass jar.
- 62880 min
Cover loosely with cloth (allowing air to circulate). Let sit at room temperature 24-72 hours, depending on desired sourness and ambient temperature.
Watch outCover with cloth, not a tight lid — the gas needs to escape; keep it somewhere warm and it turns sour faster.
- 71 min
Taste daily; when desirably tangy (like buttermilk), refrigerate to slow fermentation.
Watch outIt's ready when it tastes clean-tangy like buttermilk; push it too far and it turns sharp and vinegary, so chill it the moment you like it.
- 81 min
Stir well before serving (a layer separates). Serve cold in cups; can be sweetened with sugar or honey if desired.
