Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Making Ghana-style Microwave Fufu, Parts 1 and 2

Here's our first "how to" video demonstrating step-by-step how to make microwave fufu using readily available ingredients. Part 1 (about 5 minutes) is the introduction


and Part 2 (almost 11 minutes) is the actual demonstration



Here's the recipe:

Microwave Fufu Recipe (Ghana-style)
Using Instant Mashed Potatoes and Potato Starch Flour

1 U. S. cup (16 tablespoons, or 250 ml) instant mashed potatoes
½ U. S. cup (8 tablespoons, or 125 ml) potato starch flour
2 U. S. cups (32 tablespoons, or 500 ml) water

• Put the instant mashed potatoes and potato starch flour in a 1-quart or 1-liter microwave safe container (Naana and I both use round ones, which are easier to stir). Add 1 ¾ cup to 2 cups (about 440 to 500 ml) of the water, and stir well for about a minute with a sturdy spoon (wooden stirring stick or wooden spoon, if available).
• Place the bowl, uncovered, in the microwave for 3 minutes on high.
• Remove the bowl, and stir well, pressing against the side of the bowl to remove any lumps
• If necessary, and you did not use all of the water, add the rest, simply pouring it on top of the fufu, but not stirring it, and return the fufu to the microwave for another 3 minutes.
• Remove the fufu, pour off any standing water, and stir it again, pressing hard against the side of the bowl, until all the remaining water is mixed in and the fufu is smooth.
• Put a small bowl of water near the fufu, and wet another bowl. Place a handful of the fufu into the wet bowl, wet your hands, and turn the fufu ball until it is a smooth, almost oval shape, occasionally using the water in the other bowl to wet your hands and keep the fufu from sticking to it, and until the surface of the fufu is smooth.
• The individual balls of fufu may be served on a platter dampened with water to keep the fufu from sticking (we always put a bowl of water near our fufu to allow us to wet the serving spoon if it is being served into a bowl, or to allow diners to wet their hands before serving themselves.
• Enjoy with a nice Ghanaian soup (palmnut, groundnut, or light soup)!
• To serve: place the fufu into a bowl, and spoon the soup over and around it. Eat with a spoon or your hands.


Incidentally, exploring YouTube, I found 4 little clips of fufu being pounded in Ghana, and one of (definitely nonGhanaians) eating fufu, and 3 clips of someone making fufu on the stovetop:
eating fufu
pounding fufu 1
pounding fufu 2
pounding fufu 3
pounding fufu 4
making fufu on the stovetop, part 1
making fufu on the stovetop, part 2
making fufu on the stovetop, part 3

1 comment:

Fran said...

I had a conversation with someone today about the differences when making microwave fufu using instant potatoes and potato starch and when using instant fufu powder: when I use the fufu powder, I mix one cup of the powder to 2 cups of water, but I COVER the fufu to keep it from forming a crust.I still cook it about 6 minutes, stirring after 3 minutes, and adding a little water if it seems too hard, then cook for another 3 minutes. If it's not quite hard enough I might cook it another minute or two, and let it sit a minute before making the balls.