Fufu Recipe

Content… A Swallow Food Recipe Ingredients How to Make It Recipe Variations Tips and Tricks Make-Ahead Instructions Serving and Storage Instructions FAQs What to Serve More Mouthwatering African Recipes Conclusion Watch How to Make It

Fufu, a Swallow Food

This starchy side pounded into submission is the perfect company for traditional African stews and soups (chicken stew 😋). And you don’t worry about feeling hungry after eating because it’s satiating in a way other sides aren’t. No matter what mouthwatering dish you serve, fufu will soak up the flavors and have you reaching for it until your plate is empty.

Recipe Ingredients

Cassava or plantains may not be traditional food where you are, but after you make this dish for your friends and family, no one will deny how cultured you are. 

• Cassava – Pronounced kuh-sah-vah (if someone asks you); it’s also called yuca. This starchy root vegetable looks like a yam with tree bark on it. But you can replace it with true yams (Dioscorea, not sweet potatoes).
• Plantains – These are not bananas. They have more starch, and you can enjoy them before or after they ripen. For this recipe, you want green plantains. While this recipe calls for boiling the plantains, they also taste amazing fried! Leave the sweet yellow plantains for another tasty recipe.

How to Make Fufu

Prepare the Cassava and Plantain

• Peel and slice the cassava and plantain with a knife into medium-size pieces, take out the cassava’s core and the plantain’s tiny seeds, and rinse. (Photos 1-4)
• Cook Them – Place the pieces in a saucepan, cover with water, and cook over medium heat. Boil for 30 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain the water. (Photos 5-6)

Make the Fufu

• Blend – Add the cooked plantain and cassava to a food processor and blend. Use a spoon to move it around as necessary to ensure even blending. Add water by the spoonful as needed until you achieve desired texture. It should be soft and stretchy. (Photos 7-10)
• Smooth – Turn it onto a wet plate or bowl and fold it into itself until it is smooth.

Alternative to Electric Appliances

If you don’t have a food processor or high-powered blender:

• Mash – Using a mortar and pestle, start by pounding the plantain into a smooth dough and set it aside. Then do the same for the cooked cassava. (Photos 11-14)
• Mix – Combine the plantain and the cassava. (Photos 15-16)
• Mold the mixture into the portion size of your choice and place it in serving bowls. (Photos 17-18)
• Serve – The fufu is ready to serve with the soup of your choice.

Recipe Variations

1. Fermented – Some people like to eat their fufu fermented. Aging certain foods gives them a slightly different flavor profile and increases the nutritional benefits. Just chop the cassava root up into chunks and leave it in a bowl of water for 3-5 days for a more pronounced, sour taste.
2. Old School – This side can be made with just cassava root (cassava fufu). Follow the instructions, and replace the plantains with more cassava.
3. Sweet – This simple recipe is forgiving, so you can experiment with adding subtle flavors to your fufu. You can substitute some cassava with sweet potatoes for a slightly sweeter version. And your final product will have a beautiful color.
4. Root-Free – Plantains are relatively common in grocery stores, but cassava may not be. To make a simple dish even more straightforward, you can replace the cassava and plantain with cornmeal or semolina flour, like my ugali recipe.

Tips and Tricks

1. Before serving, stir the fufu around to check for any lumps. If you have lumps, you can pinch them out with your hand. 
2. If your fufu doesn’t have the right texture or consistency, you can cook the mixture in a pot on medium heat while constantly stirring until you get the desired results.
3. To get your fufu into a perfect ball shape, get your hand wet and fold the mixture into itself and flip it over to reveal the smooth side before serving.
4. You can also use plastic wrap to form the fufu into a circle by wrapping it and twisting it until you get the shape you want.

Make-Ahead Instructions

If you want to enjoy this even during a busy weeknight, you can make it ahead of time. Prepare a large batch of fufu and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap. It will stay good in the fridge for about four days. You could also boil the cassava and plantain ahead and reheat and blend them when you are ready for some fufu. 

Serving and Storage Instructions

Fufu is best enjoyed with a chicken or beef stew or soup with an intensely flavored broth. You can place the ball of fufu in the middle of your bowl and pour the soup over it or serve it on the side. As long as everyone has clean hands, you can even put it in the middle of the table for everyone to grab from.

Whether you make it with cassava and plantain or other starches, you can microwave it with a touch of water in 10-second blasts until warm.

FAQs

What to Serve With Fufu

You can serve this African comfort food alongside whatever you want, but it is a perfect match for a bowl of okra stew or ogbono soup. But your dinner guests wouldn’t be upset if you paired it with a brothy chicken stew or ground beef curry.

More Mouthwatering African Recipes

1. Egusi Soup
2. Jollof Rice
3. Vegetable Beef Soup
4. Peri-Peri Chicken
5. Plantain Chips

Conclusion

So now you can travel to a new land without leaving your kitchen by making some fufu with your next soup. This African staple might be your new favorite way to have a hearty meal. Would you like more recipes as good as this one? Then stay up-to-date by signing up for my newsletter.❤️

Watch How to Make It

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”qLnYfiJO” upload-date=”2022-04-29T15:33:37.000Z” name=”CASSAVA AND PLANTAIN FUFU.mp4″ description=”Fufu, a West African staple served with stews and soups, completes a delicious and satisfying meal. Traditionally made from cassava root and green plantains, it is a smooth, dense, soul-satisfying, and mild-flavored side dish that turns almost any dinner into finger food.” player-type=”collapse” override-embed=”false”]