Ingredients
Cassava
- 1.5 kgfresh cassava
- water
- salt
To serve
- pepper soup
- palm butter soup
- goat soup
Directions
- Peel the cassava completely, taking off both the brown bark and the pink layer beneath it, and cut out the woody cord running down the centre of each root.
- Cut it into chunks and boil in plenty of water for 25 to 30 minutes, until completely soft the whole way through.
- Boil it thoroughly and throw the water away. Cassava is never eaten raw or undercooked, and thorough boiling is what makes the sweet varieties safe.
- Drain it and, while it is still hot, tip it into a large wooden mortar.
- Pound it with a pestle, with one person pounding and another turning and folding the mass between strokes, which is how it is done and why it is usually a job for two.
- Keep pounding for 15 to 20 minutes, adding a splash of hot water whenever it stiffens too far.
- Pound well past the point where it looks smooth. Dumboy has to become genuinely elastic, so that a pulled piece stretches rather than tearing, and that takes far longer than seems reasonable.
- Wet your hands and shape the mass into a smooth ball.
- Serve it in a bowl with soup poured around it.
- It is swallowed rather than chewed: a piece is pinched off, dipped into the soup and swallowed whole, which is exactly why the elasticity matters so much.
- Fufu is the fermented version of the same thing, made from cassava soaked for several days beforehand.
Technique
- A food processor will not do this. It cuts the starch rather than stretching it, and the result is sticky rather than elastic.
- Work it hot. It stiffens as it cools and becomes almost impossible to pound.
- It is made fresh for each meal and does not keep, which is why it is pounded daily across the region.
Substitutions
- Ready-made fufu flour, mixed with boiling water and beaten, which is what most urban households now use.
- Green plantain pounded together with the cassava, which is common.
Variations
- Fufu, made from cassava soaked and fermented first.
- With plantain worked in for a softer, sweeter swallow.
- GB, made from grated cassava rather than boiled chunks.
History
Cassava is boiled and pounded in a mortar into an elastic ball that is swallowed rather than chewed, dipped in soup; fufu is its fermented version.
Frequently asked questions
What is Dumboy?
Dumboy is a main from Liberia: boiled cassava pounded elastic, swallowed with pepper soups. Cassava is boiled and pounded in a mortar into an elastic ball that is swallowed rather than chewed, dipped in soup; fufu is its fermented version.
How long does Dumboy take to make?
Dumboy takes 20 min of preparation and 50 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Dumboy?
Yes, within limits. Ready-made fufu flour, mixed with boiling water and beaten, which is what most urban households now use. Green plantain pounded together with the cassava, which is common.
What is the most important thing to get right in Dumboy?
Cut it into chunks and boil in plenty of water for 25 to 30 minutes, until completely soft the whole way through.
