Fufu is one of the most common and popular cuisines in the Caribbeans and some parts of Africa like Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Côte D’Ivoire, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Congo, Angola, and then some others. Most Nigerians have eaten fufu at least a million times in their lives. Maybe saying a million times is a bit of a stretch, but this shows how common it is in Nigeria.
Although many people have no idea how it’s produced or made, they buy what they need at a store down the street, a mall, or a fast food outlet. It’s commonly served with various kinds of soups in Nigeria. The ingredients used in making Nigerian fufu vary depending on the region. In Nigeria, the most popular ingredient for making fufu is cassava, which looks like dough for fried dumplings when you’re done kneading.
One of the ways it’s gotten is by mixing cassava, corn, plantain, or even corn flour in water until it gets to the required consistency.
Contents
How to Make Nigerian Fufu
Since fufu can be made from several ingredients, I'll share how you can make it with five different ingredients. My favorite one is yam fufu.
Ingredients
- 20 tubers Cassava roots
- 4 gallons Water
Instructions
- Peel your cassava and cut it into smaller pieces.
- Put the cut pieces into the water, let them be wholly submerged in the water, and leave it to ferment for a couple of days outside.
- Change the water daily and let it remain in the water for 3 - 5 days.
- Take it out after the last day. By this time, it should have gotten soft.
- Please put it in a food processor or a good blender and blend it until it becomes a paste/puree.
- Remove any stalks you may find with your hands, or sieve them out.
- Please put it in a cloth cheesecloth to drain out the excess water.
- Put the quantity you want to make in a pot with hot water and stir until it is adequately cooked at medium heat.
- Roll them to your desired shape and cover them in thin polythene or plastic.
Notes
1. Sometimes, people add baking soda to quicken fermentation. I don't think that's necessary when you're using fresh cassava. It'll ferment naturally.
2. Drain out the excess water from your puree/paste and store it for a couple of days in the refrigerator or a couple of months in the freezer. Store it in bags or an airtight container.
2. Plantain Fufu Ingredients
Furthermore, Nigerians mainly go for the fermented pasty version, not the dry flour alternative.
- Unripe plantain
- Water
Preparation
- Peel your plantain and cut it up into smaller sizes.
- Put your plantain into a blender, add a little water and blend it into a paste.
- Pour this mix into a pot and stir it continuously.
- Keep stirring until it thickens to the consistency you want. Be careful when you’re mixing, so it doesn’t form clumps.
Storage/Reheating
- Mold it to shape and store in an airtight container or bag for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Or you can keep it for over a month in the freezer.
- When you’re ready to reheat your fufu, let it thaw, then heat some water until it comes to a boil. Put your fufu in the water and let it cook for 5 – 10 minutes.
- Take it out and serve.
3. Rice Fufu
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of rice
- Water (enough to cook the rice).
Preparation:
- Wash your rice correctly and put it in a pot. Add some water that will cook the rice till it’s soft.
- Check that the rice is soft enough. If it’s not soft enough for you, add some more water and cook through.
- Use a wooden spatula to mash the rice continuously until it clusters and becomes a lump.
- You can now use your hand to mold it to your desired shape. And it’s ready to serve.
Storage/Reheating:
- Store and reheat in the same way with plantain Fufu.
4. Yam Fufu (Pounded Yam)
Ingredients:
- Yam
- Water
Pieces of Equipment Needed:
- Cooking pot
- Mortar
- Pestle
- Knife for cutting
Preparation:
- Peel your yam and cut it into smaller pieces, then wash them properly in water.
- Put the yam in a pot and pour enough water to cover it up completely, then allow it to cook till it’s soft. You can check how soft it is with a fork.
- When it’s soft, scoop your yam a couple of pieces per time and pound properly. Keep adding until you’ve pounded all the pieces.
- If it seems like it’s getting too harsh, add a little water as you pound until it has a sticky consistency.
- Scoop out of the mortar and put in a container for serving. Serve hot with Egusi soup or White Soup.
Notes:
- Pounded Yam is a one-pot meal. Please make what you and your family can finish in one sitting.
- You can use a blender or food processor if you don’t have a mortar and pestle for pounding the yam.
- You can also use a hand mixer to mix your yam until it reaches the stretchy consistency.
- You can also use yam flour. It’s a much faster option. It doesn’t taste the same, in my opinion, though.
5. Corn Fufu
Ingredients:
- ½ cup of Corn flour
- 2 cups of cassava flour
- Water
Preparation:
- Pour your corn and cassava flour into a bowl and mix them properly.
- Pour about 2 cups of water into a pot and bring it to a boil at medium-high heat.
- Reduce your heat to low heat, and sprinkle your mix in the water while stirring continuously until it thickens.
- As soon as it thickens, continue stirring till everything is evenly mixed.
- Pour some water into the pot and cover it up to cook for about 2 minutes.
- Open it up and continue stirring for about a minute. Stop stirring and allow it to cool a little bit before serving.
Storage/Reheating:
- Use the same method for Reheating plantain Fufu.
