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This is a slightly more elaborate form of funge, the standard African stiff por-ridge (see box ‘‘African Staple’’). This is served with stews; soups; or any meat, fish, or poultry dish. Brazilian toasted manioc flour, called farofa (available from specialty stores) can be substituted, making the toasting process unnecessary.
Heat oven to 3508F.
Spread manioc flour on a baking tray and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally so as not to let it burn.
Bring stock to boil and pour the toasted manioc in a steady stream, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon.
Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring, until fairly stiff.
1 pound stewing beef, cubed 8 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1 cup uncooked rice 1 tsp salt
1⁄4 cup fresh mint leaves
2 cups coarsely ground manioc (cassava or yucca flour, available at South American stores)
4 cups fish stock (or 2 cubes fish stock dissolved in 4 cups warm water)
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AFRICAN STAPLE (BAˆTON DE MANIOC, CHIKWANGUE, FUFU, FULDE, FUNGE, NSIMA, SADZA, UGALI, ETC.)
Throughout most of Africa, the staple is a stiff porridge made from a local grain or starch: sorghum, maize, millet, or manioc (cassava, yucca). This may be eaten from a bowl with a spoon, with a stew or other vegetable or meat dish, or, commonly, with the fingers, in which case the porridge is made to be much stiffer. A diner takes a few fingers of the stiff porridge, flattens it lightly with the thumb, and scoops up the sauce provided.
The standard recipe is as given below:
1 cup finely ground grain, such as cornmeal 4 cups water or strained stock
Bring liquid to boil.
Pour in meal in a fine stream while stirring with a whisk.
Lower heat.
Stir with a wooden spoon until desired consistency is reached.
Here are some national/regional variations:
Banku and Kenkey
These are two staples from western Africa, served with a soup or stew or sauce. They are par-ticularly popular in Ghana. Both are usually made from ground corn (maize), though banku can also be made from a mixture of maize and grated cassava.
Making banku or kenkey involves letting the maize (or maize and cassava tuber) ferment before cooking. Banku is cooked in a pot. Kenkey is partially cooked, then wrapped in banana leaves, maize or cornhusks, or foil, and steamed.
6–8 cups corn (maize) flour or cornmeal (ground corn or ground maize). (Cornmeal for tortillas is perfect. You can substitute equal parts corn flour and grated cassava to make banku.)
Banana leaves, or maize or cornhusks, or aluminum foil to wrap kenkey (the leaves or husks may be available at African, Asian, or Latino groceries)
1 TBS vinegar, for souring
Combine corn flour (or corn flour and grated cassava) with enough warm water to just dampen.
Mix well.
Cover the container with a clean cloth.
Set in a warm place, such as a warmed oven (unlit), or on top of the refrigerator, for 2–3 days. Fermentation may take longer than 2 days, especially in cool climates.
When properly fermented, it should have a slightly sour aroma like rising bread dough.
Alternatively, prepare the corn flour as described above, and let it ferment for about 6 hours.
Then mix 1 TBS of vinegar into the wet corn flour.
Once the fermented dough is ready, prepare banku or kenkey.
Banku
Knead the fermented dough with your hands until it is thoroughly mixed and slightly stiff.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a large pot.
Slowly add the fermented dough.
Cook for 20 minutes or more, stirring constantly and vigorously. The banku should become thick and stiff. Add water if it becomes too dry.
Divide the banku into serving sizes and roll with hands into a ball for each diner.
Serve hot or at room temperature with a sauce.
Kenkey
Knead the fermented dough until it is thoroughly mixed and slightly stiffened.
Divide the dough into two equal parts.
In a large pot, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Slowly add one part of the fermented dough.
Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and vigorously.
Remove from heat. This half of the dough is called the aflata.
Combine the aflata with the remaining uncooked dough. Mix well.
Divide the aflata-dough mixture into serving-sized pieces.
Wrap the pieces tightly in banana leaf, maize husks, or foil. Wrap like burrito coverings and seal tightly with cooking string.
Place the packets on a wire rack above water in a large pot.
Bring to a boil and steam for 1–3 hours, depending on packet size and thickness.
Serve at room temperature with any West African sauce or stew.
Baˆton de Manioc/Chikwangue (Cassava ‘‘Sticks’’)
The cassava plant (Manihot esculenta) was brought to Africa by European traders in the sixteenth century. In the American tropics it was called manioc or yucca. Cassava tubers are made into baˆton de manioc and other similar foods called (depending on location and local language) bobolo, chicouangue/chickwangue, kwanga, mboung, mintumba, miondo, and placali. These are the staple over much of central Africa. A similar dish of steamed starch is made from bananas in eastern Africa.
2 pounds cassava (yucca) tubers
banana leaves, or sheets of aluminum foil
Soak the cassava tubers in a tub for 3 days or longer.
Peel the tubers, cut into chunks, and wash them, changing water several times to remove the bitterness of some roots.
Use a mortar and pestle to pound the tubers into a thick, smooth paste.
Fold a mass of the cassava, about fist-sized, into the leaves, fold them into packets, and tie them closed. The packages should be like long sausages, 2 inches in diameter and 12 inches long.
Place packets in a large steamer over boiling water.
Cover tightly and steam for 4–8 hours.
The finished baˆton de manioc should be very thick and solid.
Serve warm or at room temperature, with any central African soup, stew, or sauce. Cooked baˆton de manioc will keep for several days, if kept in the wrapper in a cool, dry place.
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Bogobe
This is a stiff sorghum porridge from Botswana.
10 ounces dehulled, coarsely ground sorghum meal 1 quart water
Boil water.
Add sorghum meal to boiling water, stirring frequently.
Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring frequently, until porridge reaches desired stiffness.
Fufu
Fufu is the southern and West African version of the stiff porridge eaten everywhere in Africa.
1 pound yams (Dioscorea sp., not sweet potatoes)
1⁄2pint water
Boil the yams until they are soft, and then place in a wooden mortar.
Pound the yam with a wooden pestle until it has the consistency of baker’s dough. While this is being done water should be sprinkled onto the yam at regular intervals. Water also needs to be applied to the end of the pestle to keep the yam from sticking.
When the fufu is ready, place a cup of the mixture into a wet bowl and shake until it forms itself into a smooth ball.
Serve on a large platter with a soup or stew.
Gari
Popular in Western Africa, gari/gali is made from cassava at home. Today, many people in (and out of) Africa use packaged, commercially manufactured gari, which is sold in shops and markets.
It only needs to be moistened to be ready for consumption.
Cassava tubers are cleaned, peeled, and soaked in water.
Grate tubers and pack mass into a clean cotton sack.
Top with weights to squeeze out the liquid and allow partial fermentation for 2–3 days.
Spread gari out to dry in the sun.
Dry-fry in a shallow pan or wok until it is completely cooked and free of moisture.
The finished gari can be stored until needed.
Ugali
Eastern Africa’s ugali (southern Africa’s nsima, and sadza) is usually made from maize (corn), which was brought from the Americas to Africa by Europeans; before that it was made from millet.
These starchy ‘‘foundations’’ are the eastern African versions of western African staples such as fufu (which is generally made from yams, plantains, or cassava), banku, and kenkey. They are all starchy foundations for the African soup or stew or sauce, or other dishes with sauce or gravy.
They are generally made by boiling and vigorously stirring a starchy ingredient into a thick, smooth mush. As is often the case where the staple is the main part of the meal, many Africans feel they have not had a meal unless they have eaten fufu or ugali with a sauce or stew.
Chicken Stew
(Muamba de Galinha)A variation of this stew can be found in Congo and other southwestern African countries. Muamba means a sauce flavored with red palm oil and chopped chili pepper, and sometimes with ground peanuts.
Make a marinade of the lemon juice, half the garlic, salt, and chili powder.
Rub thoroughly on chicken, and let marinate for 1 hour.
Heat oil in a deep skillet or a Dutch oven.
Brown chicken lightly on all sides.
Add onions, remaining garlic, chili pepper, and tomatoes.
Cover and cook over medium heat for about1⁄2hour, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is nearly done.
Add squash and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender but not mashed.
Add palm soup base (or stock) and okra.
Simmer for 5 minutes until okra is tender.
Adjust seasoning.
Serve with funge (see box ‘‘African Staple’’).
1 quart water 1 tsp salt
1 cup white cornmeal (tortilla meal is perfect) Boil water rapidly.
Add salt.
Stir cornmeal into the boiling water gradually.
Simmer while stirring constantly. Serve in porridge consistency as breakfast dish, or cook so it can be rolled into a ball for other meals.
juice of 1 lemon 2 garlic cloves, minced salt and chili powder to taste 4 chicken quarters
1 cup red palm or other oil (or 1 cup equal amounts of palm oil and vegetable oil)
3 onions, chopped
1 whole hot chili pepper (if you prefer a spicier dish, chop the chili, and include the seeds)
3 tomatoes, quartered
1 squash or small sweet pumpkin (about 1 pound), seeded, peeled, and cubed
1 cup canned palm soup base (if available) or soup stock
12–24 small, tender okras, washed, trimmed, and sliced crosswise, ¼-inch thick
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