Fufu is a staple food in West Africa, specifically in Ghana. It is a dough made from cassava and rice that is eaten with soup or stew. Cassava is a root vegetable that is very starchy and hard to digest unless processed correctly.
To make fufu, first you have to make the dough from the cassava and rice which can be difficult to do at home unless you have the right tools and knowledge. Luckily, we can buy ready-made fufu at many restaurants now so that you do not have to struggle!
Soup is also a very common food in West Africa. There are many different varieties depending on what vegetables are available. Like with fufu, you have to know how to make soup properly or you will end up with something bland and unfulfilling.
Make tomato soup
Tomato soup is a common dish that you can make with leftover tomato sauce. To make tomato soup, all you have to do is add water!
Just add about as much water as you would tomato sauce to a pan and heat until warm. Then, scoop out the chunks of tomatoes and garlic and puree with a blender or food processor. Pour into a pan and bring to a light boil.
Taste test to see if it is flavorful enough and then season with salt and pepper if needed. That’s it! Easy tomato soup is ready to be served.
If you want an even richer flavor, you can add some butter just before serving. Some people also like to add rice or croutons into the soup, which adds some texture. Either way, it is up to you!
Tomato soup can be served for any meal depending on how much you season it.
Make chicken broth
Once you have cooked your chicken, you will need to make broth from the leftover meat. To do this, place the chicken in a pot with 2 to 3 cups of water per 1 cup of chopped chicken.
Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Remove the chicken and let cool before handling.
Add the cooled chicken back into the pot and add an additional 2 to 3 cups of water. Cook for an additional 30 minutes to an hour, or until it has a rich flavor. Skim off any fat that has risen to the surface during cooking.
If you prefer a vegetarian broth, use vegetables instead of chicken! Just make sure to cook them all the way through so that they are soft enough to mash up for the fufu batter.
Add chicken pieces
Once the rice and cassava are done, you can add your chicken pieces to the pot. You can use cooked or raw chicken, depending on your time availability. If you have cooked chicken on hand, this is an easy way to save time!
Mix the chicken with the onion and pepper mix from earlier and let that cook for a few minutes until it is done. Make sure to stir often so that it does not burn.
Once it is done, take out the chicken and shred it using a fork or knife. Mix this into the fufu when it is time to serve!
Variations: You can add any other kind of meat you like here, just make sure it is cooked beforehand. Some people like to add beef meatballs to their fufu, for example.
Add potatoes
After adding the yam and rice, it is time to add the potatoes. Potatoes can be used in place of yam or added as an additional starch.
Like yams, potatoes are not a traditional ingredient in West African cuisine. However, many people enjoy potatoes as a staple food.
So, adding potatoes to your fufu recipe is an easy way to make more. Plus, everyone loves potato soup!
Once all of the grains have been added and mixed together, your fufu is ready to be served. You can either serve it plain or with sauce or gravy. Some people even like to add vegetables to the fufu before cooking them together.
Add kale or other greens
After the fufu is cooked, you can add other things to it. Many people add kale or other greens to the fufu as it is being mixed.
This is done by picking out small amounts of the greens and adding them to the dough as it is being mixed. Once it is all mixed, the bowl can be served.
Some people add vegetables to the soup as well. This can be done by chopping up some vegetables and adding them to the pot at the same time as the meat does. They will cook in the broth along with the meat, and then can be picked out with some of the fufu when served.
You can also add spices to your soups and stews to make them more flavorful. Some common spices used in Ghanaian cuisine are cumin, coriander, and garlic powder. If using garlic, make sure to pick out some of the fufu before dipping it in soup so that it does not get too salty or sour.
Mix the fufu dough properly
When making fufu, you must work quickly and efficiently to make your dough. First, you must gather all of the ingredients to make the dough- yam or potato flour, water, and salt.
Then, you must mix the yam or potato flour with water to form a dough. You must work quickly to do this as you need to roll out the dough soon after forming it.
The trick is to knead the dough properly. To do this, pull off a chunk of the yam or potato flour and water mixture and set it in a bowl. Then, use your hands to rub the chunk into a smooth ball.
Next, take the ball and rub it across a table or surface until it is thin enough to bend without breaking. Then, take the ball and roll it in your hands until it is a long rope- like twisting taffy!
Put this back in the bowl and wet both sides with water. Then, take both ends and twist them around each other twice before placing back in the bowl.
Cook the fufu until it is dry enough to crumble
Once the water has been absorbed and the fufu has been stirred, you will need to cook the fufu until it is dry enough to crumble. This can take anywhere from five to ten minutes, depending on the kind of fufu you make.
Many times, people make the mistake of cooking the fufu too long. When this happens, you end up with hard, non-crumbly dough that does not break down easily when stirred in the soup.
This is not a good thing as your soup will not absorb any of the soft, fluffy texture! There are some ways to prevent this from happening, however.
First, make sure to use enough water when cooking the fufu.
Mix the soup thoroughly
Once your soup and fufu mixture is made, the next step is to mix them together. First, you have to break up the fufu balls into small pieces using a fork or spoon.
Then, use a bowl or plate to mix the broken up fufu and soup together until it becomes one liquid. Make sure to get all of the pieces of fufu soaked in soup!
This part can be tricky, so make sure to take your time. If the mixture is not blended well, then you will have spots of dry fufu in your soup and that is not very appetizing.
