Mandi’o chyryry

Ingredients

Cassava

• 1 kgcassava
• peeled and cut into pieces
• water, for boiling
• 1 teaspoonsalt

The pan

• 2onions, sliced
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• or 50 g butter
• or lard
• 4eggs, beaten
• 150 gParaguayan cheese
• or any fresh crumbly cheese
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• 1spring onion, sliced
• 1tomato, chopped
• a little milk

To serve

• hot from the pan
• at breakfast
• or alongside grilled meat

Directions

1. Cut away the outer pink layer entirely. Never eat cassava raw or undercooked. Pull it out right after boiling. Peel the cassava thickly with a knife. Cut down through it with a knife. Take off the pink layer beneath as well.
2. Cut the peeled cassava into thick pieces. Cut them into lengths of a few centimetres. Put them all into a large pot. Cover them well with cold water. Add the measured salt to the water. Cooking it takes about half an hour.
3. Bring the pot up to a full boil. Let it boil steadily throughout. Give it about twenty-five minutes. Keep it at a proper rolling boil. Judging it takes a careful test. Drain all the cassava thoroughly. Discard all of the cooking water. Never use it for anything else.
4. Pull out the fibrous central cord. Discard all of that part entirely. Break the cassava into rough chunks. Heat the oil or butter in a wide pan. Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Let them soften and turn golden. Add the cassava chunks to the pan.
5. Turn them through the cooked onions. Let them fry for about eight minutes. Turn them so they colour on all sides. Do not stir them constantly at all. Leave them alone to catch the pan. Turn them only every few minutes. Constant stirring stops them browning. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl. Season them with salt and pepper. Pour them over the cassava in the pan.
6. Pour them evenly over the whole pan. Do not pour them all in one place. Stir it gently as the egg sets. Give it about two full minutes. Stir just enough to distribute the egg. Do not scramble it into small pieces. Crumble the cheese over the pan. Stir it through them all gently.
7. Let it soften in the residual heat. It only needs to soften rather than melt. Take the pan off as it softens. Judging it takes a careful look. Take it off a moment early instead. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed.
8. Add plenty of black pepper as well. Scatter sliced spring onion over it. Serving it is always done piping hot. Take the pan straight to the table. Or spoon it out onto warm plates. Make it and eat it straight away.

Technique

• Cassava contains cyanogenic compounds and is genuinely dangerous raw: peel it thickly with a knife including the pink layer beneath the skin, where they concentrate, boil it hard in plenty of water, and discard that water entirely, since the compounds dissolve into it. Sweet varieties are what is sold for boiling and are low in them; never eat cassava raw or undercooked.
• A fibrous cord runs through the centre that stays tough however long it cooks; it lifts out easily once the cassava is boiled, so pull it out and discard it before frying.
• Mandi’o means cassava in Guaraní and chyryry imitates a sizzling sound, so the name is roughly sizzling cassava; Guaraní is an official language of Paraguay that most Paraguayans speak, and food names often come from it.

Substitutions

• Any fresh crumbly white cheese stands in for Paraguayan cheese.
• Leftover boiled cassava from another meal is what this dish was made for.

Variations

• Some cooks leave the cassava in chunks and others mash it roughly.
• Tomato or spring onion go into the pan in some households.
• It is eaten at breakfast and served alongside grilled meat alike.

History

A Paraguayan breakfast and side dish whose Guaraní name imitates the sizzle of the pan.

Frequently asked questions

What is Mandi‘o chyryry?

Mandi’o chyryry is a salad & side from Paraguay: boiled cassava fried with egg, onion and cheese. A Paraguayan breakfast and side dish whose Guaraní name imitates the sizzle of the pan.

How long does Mandi’o chyryry take to make?

Mandi’o chyryry takes 20 minutes of preparation and 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Mandi’o chyryry?

Yes, within limits. Any fresh crumbly white cheese stands in for Paraguayan cheese. Leftover boiled cassava from another meal is what this dish was made for.

What is the most important thing to get right in Mandi’o chyryry?

Cut away the outer pink layer entirely. Never eat cassava raw or undercooked. Pull it out right after boiling. Peel the cassava thickly with a knife. Cut down through it with a knife. Take off the pink layer beneath as well.