Fufu recipe

Cassava and green plantain steamed together then pounded in a mortar until the paste turns smooth and elastic.

1 hourmedium4 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g cassava
• 500 g green plantains
• 2000 ml water
• 1 tsp salt

How to make Fufu

1. Peel 500 g of cassava, pull out the woody fibre running down the centre, and cut the flesh into chunks. Peel 500 g of green plantains and cut them into thick rounds.
2. Steam the cassava and plantain together over boiling water for about 30 minutes instead of boiling them: boiled pieces take on water and the paste will never hold together.
3. Test with a knife tip; both should be soft right through and give no resistance.
4. Tip everything hot into a wooden mortar and pound with a pestle, a handful at a time, folding the mass back over itself between strokes.
5. Keep pounding for 10 to 15 minutes, wetting your hands in salted water, until the paste is glossy, elastic and springs back when you stretch it. A blender gives a purée, never this texture.
6. Work in 1 teaspoon of salt during the last minutes of pounding.
7. Shape into balls with wet hands and serve hot with a sauce such as nyembwe, groundnut sauce or fish bouillon; foufou is never eaten on its own.

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