Garri

Garri is a granular flour with a slightly fermented, sour taste, made from fermented cassava root. It is a staple food in Nigeria and much of West Africa.

History

The word comes from the Hausa language, where it appears in many proverbs, a sign of how deeply it is rooted in everyday life. Originally it referred to any powdered product, such as garin dawa made from guinea corn or garin masara made from maize, although the cassava version, also known as manioc or tapioca, is the most common and popular.

Making garri involves peeling, washing and grating cassava, pressing the mash to squeeze out the starchy water, sieving it and frying it in a large pot. The heat helps remove the naturally occurring cyanogenic toxins in the plant. The dry grains keep for long periods. Today it is eaten in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon and Liberia.

Culture

Garri comes in rough, medium and smooth textures, and in white and yellow versions depending on whether palm oil is added. In Nigeria, white garri known as garri-Ijebu, produced mainly by the Yoruba people of Ijebu, is particularly prized. In Ghana, it is judged by flavour and grain size, and buyers look for crisp grains as a sign of freshness.

It is eaten in many ways: soaked in cold water with sugar, honey or peanuts as a snack or cereal, or cooked with hot water and kneaded into eba, the dough served with soups and stews. In Ghana it is eaten with beans in a dish called yoo ke garri, and in Liberia it is used in the dessert kanyan.

Trivia