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Nigerian · Sides
Eba, a soft gari swallow
yellow gari · firm and tangy · soup partner
AI-generated photograph
- Total10 minutes
- Prep2 minutes
- Cook8 minutes
- Serves4
Eba is a firm, slightly tangy swallow made by stirring gari (dried, toasted grains of cassava) into boiling water. It is ready in ten minutes and holds its own beside any rich Nigerian soup.
Contains: none of the 14 allergens, as written. None of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written. Gari is made only from cassava, and yellow gari adds palm oil.
Let's cook
- Boil a full kettle. Pour 450ml of the boiling water into a large heatproof bowl and keep the rest of the kettle hot.
- Sprinkle the gari evenly over the water until it covers the surface in a layer, without stirring. Leave it for 2 minutes so the grains soak up the water and swell.
- Now stir with a sturdy wooden spoon, then press and fold the gari against the side of the bowl, turning it over and pressing again, for 2 to 3 minutes until it comes together as a smooth dough with no dry grains.
- Feel the dough with the back of the spoon. If it is too hard, add a tablespoon of hot water at a time and work it in. If it is too soft, sprinkle in a little more gari and fold again.
- Wet your hands, divide the eba into 4 and roll each into a smooth ball. Serve warm, covered or wrapped in cling film so the outside does not dry.
Tips
- Water first, then gari, never the other way round: pouring water onto gari makes lumps.
- The longer you leave the gari sitting on the water before stirring, the softer the eba.
- Gari is also eaten soaked in cold water with sugar as a snack; it is the same packet.
Swaps
- White gari works the same way and gives a paler, more sour eba.
- Softer and smoother: use 500ml water and stir for a minute longer.
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Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.
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