Sour fermented cassava dough, the tangy base worked into banku and akple. Ewe and Ga cooks make it by inoculating grated cassava with a portion of an older batch, then leaving it to ferment for days.
The fermentation and pressing is the detoxification step for cassava, not a flavouring one, and shortening it is how cassava poisoning happens; agbelima is sold ready-made in every market.
What goes into it
- cassava roots
- a portion of a previous batch, or a traditional starter of cassava peel and stems
- water
How it is made
Peeled cassava is grated and mixed with a starter carried over from the last batch, then packed into sacks and pressed under weights for two to four days. Lactic bacteria acidify it while the liquid drains away. That combined pressing and souring is also what removes the cyanogenic glycosides from the root.
How long it takes: two to four days of pressing and fermenting
How it is eaten
Mixed with maize dough and cooked into banku or akple, eaten with okra stew and grilled tilapia.
History
An Ewe and Ga dough soured by inoculating grated cassava with a portion of an older batch, then left to ferment for days.
Frequently asked questions
What is Agbelima?
Agbelima is a fermented & pickled from Ghana: sour fermented cassava dough, the tangy base worked into banku and akple. An Ewe and Ga dough soured by inoculating grated cassava with a portion of an older batch, then left to ferment for days.
How is Agbelima made?
Peeled cassava is grated and mixed with a starter carried over from the last batch, then packed into sacks and pressed under weights for two to four days. Lactic bacteria acidify it while the liquid drains away. That combined pressing and souring is also what removes the cyanogenic glycosides from the root. It takes two to four days of pressing and fermenting.
Can I make Agbelima at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The fermentation and pressing is the detoxification step for cassava, not a flavouring one, and shortening it is how cassava poisoning happens; agbelima is sold ready-made in every market.
What goes into Agbelima?
Cassava roots, a portion of a previous batch, or a traditional starter of cassava peel and stems, water.
How is Agbelima eaten?
Mixed with maize dough and cooked into banku or akple, eaten with okra stew and grilled tilapia.
