Fufu...Sans Fingers

I am not sure if Fufu is fermented, I have heard that it is, but I had a hard time identifying the point at which it was left to ferment. However, it is an essential part of Ghanaian cuisine, and it was so much fun to make, I thought I would include it anyway. As the title suggests, I did not leave any of my fingers in the Fufu, but it was close. Here’s how it works. Cassava and plantain are peeled, chopped, boiled and placed into a mortar. All well and good. Now here is the important step, take a six foot wooden pestle and beat the hell out of the dough until it is a delicious mucusy dumpling. The skill comes from the person sitting close to the mortar, whose job it is to fold the just pounded dough so that the pestle can land in the center, making a pocket for the next fold. Rinse, and repeat at as fast a pace as humanly possible. During an awesome five-hour cooking course, the owner and chef at the Nice N’ Rich chop bar scolded me as I lightly dabbed at the dough “Harder. Harder. Harder, come on damnit, be a man.” Fed up, she demonstrated how it should be done, while I flipped the dough and tried to cross myself at the same time.By the time the fufu is ready to eat, you are drenched in sweat, and you love every ounce of starchy carbohydrate that is packed into that little ball.