POSH GARI AND SHITO

Hmm! Gari and Shito (the popular Ghanaian Black Chilli sauce) has saved many a hungry stomachs particularly at boarding school.

Come to think of it, I might as well name these quick recipe series as the ‘Chop Box series’, share your thoughts.

GARI

Gari is a popular West African ingredient made from fermented, grated and roasted Cassava (Yuca). 

Gari can last up to 2 years in an airtight container and it’s still an essential ingredient in every Chop Box a student takes to boarding school. Read more about Gari

SHITO

Shito is a popular Ghanaian Black Chilli sauce that’s made from powdered Shrimps, Herrings, spices, Chillies, Onions, Tomatoes etc, which are slow cooked till you achieve the rich black colour. 

The sauce is devoid of any moisture when it turns black meaning it does last for at least a year. 

Watch how I make my aromatic Black Chilli sauce below and see why it’s had over 100,000 views on YouTube.

Paying homage to a time lost and essential part of most Ghanaian upbringing I have included 2 new ingredients to make this dish protein rich and twisted.

Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS 

4 tablespoonfuls of Gari

3 tablespoonfuls of Water

1 teaspoonful of SHITO

20g of chopped Spring Onions (optional)

1-2 Eggs 

1 tablespoonful of oil to fry the Eggs

Salt to taste

METHOD 

Watch how to make this nostalgic and classic Ghanaian dish below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave comments with your feedback and share. All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

Gari

TASTIEST GARI PINON RECIPE

Gari is made out of  grated Cassava that's fermented and roasted. Gari has a Couscous consistency and most West Africans use it just as you would Couscous and more. 

Gari can be enjoyed both in a savoury or sweet way. 

'Gari Piñon', is basically Gari cooked in a hot and perfectly spiced Tomato broth. This is a popular dish in Togo, Benin and the Ewe's of Ghana. Gari Pinon has a soft and light texture which is packed with flavours and can be enjoyed with your favourite Meat, Fish or Poultry.

Whenever I try to recreate a recipe, I do so with the knowledge that food is Art. Backed with this view, I try to incorporate new textures, flavours and colours to achieve an artistic view. This reflects in the type of recipes I make and in the pictures I take. 

With this Gari Piñon recipe I used my Chicken stew recipe as the base for my broth and added finely diced Peppers for colour and added crunch. 

Watch how to make the Chicken stew below;

For this recipe you will need;

300g of Chicken stew. Use 200g for the broth and leave 100g with the Chicken. Best to shred the Chicken in the remaining stew for garnishing and serving. 

150g of Gari or try using CousCous.

150g of finely diced mixed Peppers. (Red, Green and Yellow).

1 finely diced medium Onion

Salt to taste

Watch how to create this recipe on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’, below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, like the video, try the recipe, comment and share with family and friends.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

GARI PIÑON SCOTCH EGG

You're mad, said my friend in a rather endearing tone, (when I told her I made Gari Piñon Scotch egg).'Yes, I'm mad for good food' was my response with my high pitched enthused voice, as I bit into each morsel. You can be creative with the recipe and include shredded Beef or Chicken into your Gari Piñon. 

This is a perfect starter for any dinner party, Easter lunch or enjoyed as a snack. 

Ingredients

400g of Gari Pinon

4 eggs

Water

Utensils

Saucepan

Cling film

Chopping board

Rolling pin. 

To start 

Fill a saucepan with water and place on a medium heat. Just when the water begins to boil, (using a spoon) lower each egg into the hot water. Boil the eggs for 1 minute and take it off the heat. 

Cover the saucepan with its lid for 6 minutes for a softer egg yolk or 10 minutes for a hard boiled egg.  

Peel your eggs and leave it aside until needed. 

Place 100g of the Gari Piñon in cling film. The cling film should be big enough to cover the Gari Piñon. Using a rolling pin , roll the Gari Piñon into a flat shape. 

Place an egg in the middle of the Gari Piñon, as shown above. 

 

Wrap the Gari Piñon around the egg with the help of the cling film, into a nice ball. 

Repeat the process until you've used up both the eggs and Gari Piñon. 

 

Serve the 'Gari Scotch egg' with Avocado slices, Sautéed Mushrooms or any protein of your choosing. 

Happy Easter everyone. 

Find more inspiring recipes on my YouTube channel, 'Ndudu by Fafa'. Don't forget to subscribe and share.

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.

How to bake the perfect whole Fish

GARI ME ANYDAY

'Gari' is a popular West African food which is made out of cassava. It's used the same way, one would couscous and its a staple in most homes.

The process of Gari making includes peeling of the cassava(as shown below) and grating it into a mushy consistency . 

The grated cassava is then placed in a Jute/ Mesh sack, weighted down and left for 3-7 days to ferment(where extraction of its juices and cynide characteristics takes place). 

Grated Cassava

By the 3rd day, most of the juices are  extracted, leaving a somewhat dry coarse texture. 

The Gari is then sieved to get rid of any odd bits and fried till dry (in a huge clay or metal pot). It's usually fried  with Palm oil, for a yellowish colour or without for a pale cream colour.

Uses of Gari/ Cassava (Yuca) 

If you attended boarding school (especially in Ghana) one had 'Gari', the survival ingredient in their 'Chop box'.

 The best boarding school recipes included a sweet variation of mixing the Gari  with milk, water, sugar and peanuts, (popularly known as 'Soakings' in Ghana).

Another popular recipe is where the Gari is sprinkled with water and served  with Shito (the Ghanaian Black Chilli sauce).

Shito

'Shito' is a black pepper sauce made from chillies, dried shrimp or crayfish powder and dried herring powder, which is synanimous with Ghanaians.

Agbeli Kaklo

'Agbeli Kaklo' is a savoury snack made from grated Cassava and onions, which is then deep fried. Its best eaten with slivers of Coconut. 

I love adding the 'Ndudu twist' to traditional African dishes, hence I created a softer and crunchy version of Yuca balls with an Apple sauce and chilli flakes. 

RED RED

Gari is also served with beans stew (popularly known as Red Red). Recipe for the Red Red is available on my blog. 

Waakye

Another popular recipe for Gari is 'Gari Fortor', where the Gari is mixed with a spicy tomato based sauce and served alongside the ever popular 'Waakye' (the Ghanaian rice and beans). 

Attieke

Gari is also used to make the ever popular Attieke, where the Gari is mixed with Olive oil and water. Be inspired to add different ingredients (eg Feta cheese, Wagashi (the West African cheese) Apricots, nuts etc to your Gari for that 'Ndudu' twist. 

I used Gari for my West African interpretation of scotch egg by wrapping it around a soft boiled duck egg. 

The most popular use of Gari is for 'Eba' (mixed with hot water and salt and cooked into a dumpling) which best accompanies sauces and soups like Spinach sauce, Okra soup, Melon seed sauce etc. 

I've only just mentioned a few ways that Gari is eaten. Leave comments below on how you enjoy your Gari. 

 All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.