Garri is a staple of West African cuisine made from fermented and roasted cassava root. It comes in different forms and colors, and can be prepared at home. Cassava roots are soaked, grated, fermented, dried, and roasted with palm oil. Garri can be served in various ways and is rich in starch, fiber, protein, and vitamins.
Garri, made by fermenting and roasting cassava root, is one of the staples of West African cuisine. Also known as gari, garry, tapioca, gario sulphate, farofa and poi, this fermented food comes in fine, medium and coarse grained forms and in white and yellow colors. The texture comes from how the root is ground and sieved and the color comes from the addition of palm oil; the version with palm oil is generally more in demand. Garri can be bought in supermarkets or can be prepared at home.
To prepare garri, cassava roots are cleaned, peeled and soaked in water for several hours. The soaked roots are then dried and grated; they used to be grated by hand, now there are machines for grating the cassava roots. The root chips are filled into porous burlap sacks and pressed under heavy weights for 3-7 days until the moisture and starch have completely drained and the chips have fermented. Cassava is rich in cyanide and the fermentation process reduces it. The root chips are then sifted and spread out on a sheet in the sun and left to dry.
The dried cassava chips are then dry roasted or fried with a little palm oil. Palm oil adds color and flavor to the chips and is also helpful in further reducing the cyanide content in cassava. The roasted garri is stored and used as needed.
Garri can be served in different ways for different meals. It can be eaten in its roasted or fried form, it can be mixed with cold water, or it can be served with milk and sugar or honey. The dried chips can be ground into a fine flour, which is often mixed with hot water to form a porridge called eba or utara. The flour can also be used as a thickener for soups and to make a vegetable stew called photo garri. It is also used to make bean stew called yor ke garri and bean cake called akara.
Many people in Africa and around the world eat garri every day. It is rich in starch and high in fiber, protein and vitamins. Since it is often cooked with vegetables, bananas, coconut, peanuts, cashews, fish and meats, it can be quite an excellent and healthy dish.
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