By Musa Abdulrazak
Gurasa is a local snack that is popular among the Hausa/Fulani people of Northern Nigeria.
The history of Gurasa can be traced back to the Arabian traders and merchants who followed trade routes from Timbuktu to Sudan, all through North Africa and eventually settled in Dala, Kano State.
The English interpretation for Gurasa is bread, which is garnished with spices and other ingredients and the mixture gives a wonderful taste.
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In Northern Nigeria, particularly in Kano State, Gurasa is a popular street food among the Hausa and Fulani people.
It is prepared in many ways, but the primary product is made like the conventional method of baking bread.
There is a mixture of wheat flour, eggs, yeast and sugar.
The batter is baked in the local Hausa oven called the Tanderu or Tanda, which is made of a clay molded area and the heat is fueled by firewood or charcoal.
The baked Gurasa is usually thin and flat in a circular shape, it is left to cool for a day or two, then taken to be prepared for consumption.
It is typically served with a savory topping of groundnut cake powder (kuli-kuli), spices, and vegetables. Meanwhile to some consumers it is eaten as a light refreshment for lunch or tiffin.
However, in some African Arab countries like Sudan and Egypt, Gurasa is thick and spongy. It is often eaten with flavorful stews (mullah), similar to Egypt where it is also served as a sweet snack with honey or sugar.
Being a common and popular edible among inhabitants of Kano makes it affordable to buy with less than five hundred Naira, which as a result of that even the visitors who are paying conventional visits and the traders from neighboring and far distant states are not exceptional in consuming Gurasa in order to fill their hunger while staying for a moment in Kano.
Not only that, lots of people who are not living in Kano have been consistently demanding and asking for Gurasa if one of their beloved ones travelled to Kano; with that appetite making Gurasa become significant and consumable among people, which impacted the high demand of it as a favorite delicacy for people of different ages and led to the increase of its price from two hundred Naira before to two hundred and fifty Naira. Although, it is sold at different prices depending on the demands of the buyers.
It is, however, in all nooks and crannies of Kano, Gurasa is found available and that allows numerous youth to be skillful through engaging in selling it on their foreheads over the roads and streets. It also remains helpful against hunger without requiring a long procedure in the eating preparation compared to other food.
Hajiya Tabawa Jakara, a fifty-two-year-old woman who has been engaged in Gurasa business for more than thirty years, described that ”she has never witnessed a more lucrative business than selling Gurasa.” She added that she used to produce five hundred Gurasa every day with her strength in spite of her elderly nature.
Similarly, Rabiu Tanimu, who has been manufacturing Gurasa and running the business of it, said, ”Gurasa business is secret, because someone who does not know anything about it other than to buy for eating would not be able to deem how critical Gurasa is before being produced.”
Ado Miko, who spent about twenty-five years selling Gurasa at Kabuga Janbulo along Gwarzo Road, revealed that ”Gurasa was an ancient edible since Prophet Muhammad S.A.W’s period where it was used to feed the companions at the battlefield. It is contrary to bread that expires within stipulated hours; but Gurasa can be stored for some number of days without being changed from its initial position, expired or fermented.”
She continued saying the profit from Gurasa business is meager, precisely fifty Naira from each sale. Not only that, in Gurasa business there is no loss of income, every time I come to my selling point I often earn more than six thousand Naira gains, while on some days beyond.
However, Sunusi Anka, who carries Gurasa on his head hawking and rambling within metropolitan Kano, noted that ”Lots of his Gurasa consumers are visitors who came to Kano for special visits and they eat it at a large scale. He claimed that the secret of his business is truth, because he does not insist on getting more profits.”
Faisal Muhammed, Abba Isah and Fatima Shu’aibu are conventional visitors to Kano who consume Gurasa for food. They said that ”Gurasa has been our favorite food and it is rarely available in our locality. It used to sustain us for hours, unlike other foods. If we purchase Gurasa of one thousand Naira, there will be no more looking for another food to eat in daytime.”
Malam Kamal Isma’il, sociologist at Bayero University, Kano said ”From a sociological perspective, they discovered that it is the nature of human behavior to adapt and assimilate the culture of majority people wherever a person arrives as a stranger and to look for easier food at affordable price to minimize resources.”
Dr. Khalid Sa’ad, lecturer and food scientist in Kaduna Polytechnic said ”Gurasa is a mixture of different ingredients, it contains carbohydrate, fat and protein, that’s why it can sustain a person for hours without being de-energized. Besides, it is made up from wheat flour and that makes it helpful for health. Moreover, a person persistently eating Gurasa can definitely boost his/her skin quality and prevent harmful diseases as well as smooth digestion.”
Musa Abdulrazak is a student of Mass Communication at Bayero University, Kano.
