Gari soakings

Ingredients

Base

• 150 ggari
• 400 mlcold water
• 3 tbspgranulated sugar, or to taste

To add

• 50 groasted groundnuts
• 4 tbspevaporated milk, if wanted
• a pinch of salt

Sometimes added

• 1ripe banana, sliced
• roasted coconut chips
• ice cubes

Directions

1. Put the gari in a wide bowl, since it will swell to well over twice its volume. Pour the cold water over it all at once. The water must be cold, since hot water turns gari into a paste instantly. Stir it once with a spoon and then leave it alone.
2. Let it stand for two or three minutes while the grains take up the water. Others want it barely wet, with the gari swollen and separate.
3. Add a splash more water if it has drunk everything and gone stiff. Do not stir it hard at any point, since that breaks the grains into paste.
4. Add the sugar and fold it through gently with the spoon. Add a pinch of salt as well, which sharpens the sweetness noticeably. Taste it and add more sugar if you want, since preferences vary widely.
5. Scatter the roasted groundnuts over the top rather than stirring them in. Stirring them through makes them go soft in the water within minutes.
6. Use plain roasted groundnuts rather than salted ones if you can. Pour the evaporated milk over the top in a spiral. Do not stir it in fully, so some spoonfuls are richer than others.
7. Serve it immediately with a spoon, straight from the mixing bowl. It cannot be made in advance, since the gari keeps swelling and turns to paste.

Technique

• Use cold water, since hot water turns gari straight to paste.
• Do not stir hard after soaking, or the swollen grains break down.
• Add the groundnuts on top at the last moment so they stay crunchy.

Substitutions

• Roasted peanuts in place of groundnuts, which are the same thing under another name.
• Condensed milk with less added sugar, in place of evaporated milk.

Variations

• With sliced ripe banana through it.
• With roasted coconut chips added for crunch.
• Savoury, with salt, pepper and no sugar.

History

A cheap filling snack of Ghanaian campuses, markets and lorry parks, mixed in the bowl and eaten with a spoon.

Frequently asked questions

What is Gari soakings?

Gari soakings is a snack from Ghana: gari soaked in cold water with sugar, groundnuts and sometimes evaporated milk. A cheap filling snack of Ghanaian campuses, markets and lorry parks, mixed in the bowl and eaten with a spoon.

How long does Gari soakings take to make?

Gari soakings takes 5 min of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes 2 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Gari soakings?

Yes, within limits. Roasted peanuts in place of groundnuts, which are the same thing under another name. Condensed milk with less added sugar, in place of evaporated milk.

What is the most important thing to get right in Gari soakings?

Put the gari in a wide bowl, since it will swell to well over twice its volume. Pour the cold water over it all at once. The water must be cold, since hot water turns gari into a paste instantly. Stir it once with a spoon and then leave it alone.