Toasted fermented cassava grains, soaked cold with sugar or stirred hot into eba. Cassava arrived with Portuguese traders from Brazil; garri processing spread across Nigeria and became the cheapest staple in the country.
The pressing and fermenting is the detoxification step for cassava, not a flavouring one; garri is sold in every market and the processing is a trade with equipment for exactly this reason.
What goes into it
- cassava tubers
- sometimes palm oil, for the yellow type
How it is made
Cassava is peeled, grated and packed into sacks under heavy weights for two to four days while it ferments and the liquid is pressed out. That combined pressing and fermenting removes the cyanogenic glycosides. The drained mash is sieved and toasted in a wide shallow pan over fire, stirred constantly until the grains are dry and hard.
How long it takes: two to four days of pressing and fermenting, then toasting
How it is eaten
Soaked in cold water with sugar, groundnuts and milk, or stirred into hot water as eba with soup.
History
Cassava arrived with Portuguese traders from Brazil; garri processing spread across Nigeria and became the cheapest staple in the country.
Frequently asked questions
What is Garri?
Garri is a fermented & pickled from Nigeria: toasted fermented cassava grains, soaked cold with sugar or stirred hot into eba. Cassava arrived with Portuguese traders from Brazil; garri processing spread across Nigeria and became the cheapest staple in the country.
How is Garri made?
Cassava is peeled, grated and packed into sacks under heavy weights for two to four days while it ferments and the liquid is pressed out. That combined pressing and fermenting removes the cyanogenic glycosides. The drained mash is sieved and toasted in a wide shallow pan over fire, stirred constantly until the grains are dry and hard. It takes two to four days of pressing and fermenting, then toasting.
Can I make Garri at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. The pressing and fermenting is the detoxification step for cassava, not a flavouring one; garri is sold in every market and the processing is a trade with equipment for exactly this reason.
What goes into Garri?
Cassava tubers, sometimes palm oil, for the yellow type.
How is Garri eaten?
Soaked in cold water with sugar, groundnuts and milk, or stirred into hot water as eba with soup.
