Shehu Muhammad K.O.
U15MM2004
It is common for every geographical setting and some communities to have something unique about their culture, religion, ideology, trade, weather and so on, which sets them apart from others. All these specialties could be quite alluring, as they attract tourist and adventurers from within and outside the locality. Just as visitors and tourist would not go to Italy or South Korea without enjoying pizza and kimchi, some quarters in Nigeria are known for some special cuisine and delicacies. In Northern part of Nigeria, the story is no different as; the most visited savored snack is ‘Gurasa’ which is almost exclusive to Kano state.
Though Gurasa remains an ideal snack; one for which the people of the north have been popular with for over centuries. Gurasa was and still used as bread in the north before the advent of bread. Today’s bread is even referred to as Gurasa. Gurasa got its name from Arabic word “Khubz” (bread), it is made from wheat, using a traditional frying pan (tanda) to fry it. When fried, it becomes circular and milky from center, with brownish edges, due to overheating.
The story continues but what is most amusing is that Ahmadu Bello university Zaria, in the northern part of the country and the sub-Saharan Africa, is not left out of the quest for Gurasa as it is located in the north and not too far from Kano; the state where Gurasa is believed to have originated from. I once took a walk around the main campus of the institution and was enormously overwhelmed by the numbers of Gurasa stands around the campus; almost every department houses a Gurasa stand which is widely patronized by students of all ethnic groups on campus.
As a snack that is patronized by almost all students and lecturers both indigene and non-indigene of the north, it became my outmost concern to know how healthy and safe it is for students to consume it.
In an interview with a Gurasa seller, Malama Habiba, on campus she told me that: she has been in the business of selling Gurasa for the past ten years. Further stating that Gurasa has many health benefits as she recounted the ingredients required to make Gurasa to include; flour, water, yeast, with little groundnut oil (to avoiding sticking to the frying pan), which are mostly carbohydrate with a little protein. After the Gurasa is made, it is garnished with cabbage, carrot, lettuce or onions as the case may be with grounded Quli-Quli (grounded German stone) and yaji (mixed pepper). I also spoke with the buyers at the Gurasa stand in faculty of education, who said that his major reason for patronizing Gurasa is because it’s a fast food that is readily available on campus. He further said that it last long in the stomach and one does not get hungry easily after consuming it as it does not also makes one to purge.
Another student, in the same faculty, Barnabas Elizabeth, said why he patronizes Gurasa on a daily basis is not because of it nutritional value, but its ability to quench hunger and satisfy the present need and because it is cost effective; with little amount of money you can get Gurasa that can keep you going through the day.
After speaking with sellers and buyers of Gurasa I decided to seek the opinion of a nutritionist in home economics department, faculty of education to know how good the snack is to the health of the students and the rising demand of the snack on campus.
Miss Lillian, a nutritionist encountered to me that the process of making Gurasa and the ingredients required is nutritional but that its contains much carbohydrate and very low or minute quantity of protein. She further stated that the Quli-Quli is rich in fat and oil though required in small quantity, cabbage and carrot contains vitamin, such as vitamin A, for good eyesight. She said that Gurasa is a snack that lacks protein, and protein is a basic nutrient which the body requires in large quantity. She advised that if the production of Gurasa could be enhanced by adding egg to the dough, “eggs should be added to increase the protein level, it would be more nutritional and healthier, the body fluid is produced as a result of protein consumption and it increases metabolism” she added.
In her words she said students should not be afraid of patronizing Gurasa if only it is balanced. Another aspect she lamented was the hygiene level in Gurasa production. She said as a snack consumed by almost all students, their health should be of outmost concern and a thing to regard by the university authority. The selling of Gurasa should be placed in the hands of few individuals and monitored closely by the school authority, if food is not prepared in the right environment and by the right hands, it could lead to food poisoning. An embargo should be placed on the production and distribution of Gurasa on campus, she added.
It is however visible that as the world evolves, it also flips in with it a new invention of food and taste. Hence, in midst of all this one must begin to ask questions if it suitable for the body system or not.
