Lemony Asaana Drink (Fermented Corn Drink)

There are two types of this popular Ghanaian street drink. Made mainly from caramelized sugar and the fermented stock from soaked corns.

Type one uses the just the boiled stock from the corn, exactly the recipe I used for mine; or type two, where the fermented corn is blended together with the stock, cooked, then sieved for a much thicker fermented stock.

I used the type one for this recipe from a fond memory of my high school days with this kenkey vendor who uses the fermented stock from her corn to make this delicious drink and reward her regular good customers. I remember we would put our monies together after some hot kenkey to buy evaporated milk to enjoy with the chilled asaana as dessert. I'm salivating over this memory, it was so good.

Also, I am still on my low carbohydrate diet (not that it helped me in any way :( ). I added a touch of lemon to this recipe for extra refreshing taste and I practically had to refrain myself from gulping it all down at once. You might do the same after trying this recipe, believe me.

To serve it for your guest or for yourself, mix some sugar with cinnamon, rub the edge of your serving glass with a slice of lemon all round, then dip the glass into the sugar-cinnamon mixture to coat the rim of the glass. Add some ice cubes in the glass and pour your Asaana over it; so indulging
and refreshing. Double up this recipe if making for more people.

All you need; serves two persons
200 ml fermented corn stock
100 g white sugar
Lemon slice

How to make it
Firstly ferment 100 g fresh corn with 200 ml water for at least two days.

Sieve off the water and add to pan to simmer of medium heat. Do not boil, we need the fermented corn stock to just warm up so it will not harden up when you add it to the hot sugar caramel.

Add sugar in medium sauce pan and gently bring to boil to melt. At this stage, you can choose how deep the color of your asaana should be. A darker caramel will give you a dark colored drink and a light caramel for a lighter asaana. Just be very careful you do not burn the sugar at this stage as it
burns very quickly.

Once you have the perfect caramel, remove from heat and slowly with a whisk, add in the warm fermented stock, stirring always.

Add in the lemon slice and taste. If the drink is too sugary for you as mine was, add in more lemon. Keep in the fridge and serve always over ice cubes/ Stores up to three days in the fridge. Perfect for hot summer days.

Tip: use the leftover fermented corn for your kenkey, banku or koko. Simply blend it with some water into a stiff dough and store frozen for future use as seen below. #0wasteGhfood

Enjoy a taste of Ghanaian street drink.