Fufu is a staple food in Africa, it is widely consumed in Nigeria, Ghana, Congo, and Cameroon, etc. Fufu also pronounced as ‘foo-foo‘ can be gotten from a number of starchy foods such as potato, yam, plantain, and cassava. The most common type of fufu is the cassava fufu which is made from processed cassava.
The cassava is usually peeled soaked for two days until it turns out very soft. Once it is soft, it is then taken to the mill to process it or pureed and sift to remove the fiber. It is the smooth paste that is then stirred on fire to form a thick and rubbery paste which is what we call fufu. Apart from using fresh cassava to make fufu, the powdered cassava also exists, you can get this in supermarkets or at any big store near you.
Fufu is prepared in various ways, the most common way of making this is by pounding cassava puree. The process usually involves mixing and pounding separate portions of boiled cassava thoroughly with water to achieve a smooth and dough-like consistency. The pounding process is very laborious since it involves the use of mortar and a pestle.
However, fufu is usually eaten with the fingers. The best way to eat fufu is to pinch a small size of the fufu off from the big lump in your right-hand fingers and then roll it into an easily ingested round ball. Then dip it into the soup and swallow. Also, fufu is not so sweet on its own, the best way to enjoy fufu is to pair it with stew or soups like Ogbono, Afang, and egusi soup. In this article, I will be listing down the simple steps to make fufu which is a bit different from the usual.
Note that the cassava used is the raw fashion, it was fermented, pureed, or ground, and the water was strained out just the way you make pap (akamu) or cheese. For a more easy explanation, you can also check the video above to see how fufu is made.
Table of Contents
Fufu Ingredients
- pureed cassava (raw processed cassava)
- Water
- Pot
- Wooden turner
Steps on how to make fufu
- Bring the pureed cassava into a big pot, add water and try dissolving all the lumps and mixing into a smooth paste.
- Once the whole lumps dissolve, add a little water slightly above the cassava paste ( it should a bit runny).
- Now, place the content on high to medium heat and begin stirring; the stirring should be at an interval of 20 seconds at first.
- As you keep stirring, few creamy lumps will be noticed to be appearing. Stir it more frequently to dissolve the lumps as it cooks.
- After 10 minutes of stirring this, the water will dry and the paste will become thick. It is then mixed thoroughly until all the whitish paste mixes together and turns to a thick creamy or off white color.
- Sprinkle water over it so that it won’t be too thick in order to flip it over to the next side to cook as well. Use a spoon close by to scrape the sides of the pot and the wooden turner in case it appears hard and sticky.
- Once the fufu has become pliable and has changed from bright white to an off white color or creamy texture, it is done. Take it off from the heat.
- Transfer the cooked fufu into a flat surface or tray and leave to cool down for 5 minutes. Mix the fufu with your hand and mold into balls like a dough.
- Fufu can be paired with egusi soup to enjoy it.