Fufu recipe

Cassava and plantain pounded hot in a wooden mortar until they form one elastic ball that stretches when you pull it.

1 hourmedium3 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g cassava
• 500 g green plantains
• 1500 ml water

How to make Fufu

1. Peel 500 g of cassava, split each piece lengthwise and pull out the hard woody fibre running through the middle, then cut it into chunks. Peel 500 g of green plantains the same way.
2. Boil them separately in plain water, the cassava about 25 minutes and the plantains about 15, until a knife slides in without resistance.
3. Pound them while they are still very hot in a tall wooden mortar: the plantain first, then the cassava added a handful at a time.
4. Keep pounding with the full weight of the pestle for 15 to 20 minutes, a second pair of wet hands folding the paste back to the centre between blows.
5. The texture is the dish. It has to become one smooth elastic ball that stretches when pulled. A potato masher or a fork cannot do this, and a food processor gives a sticky purée, not fufu.
6. Wet your hands and shape balls the size of an orange, smoothing the surface until it shines.
7. Keep them under a damp cloth; fufu hardens as it cools and never comes back properly once reheated.
8. Serve with a soup you can dip into, groundnut sauce, palm nut sauce or okra, and eat with the right hand, swallowing each piece without chewing.

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