How to make Akpu cassava fufu from scratch

Here is how we make akpu fufu also known as cassava fufu from scratch. By making Cassava fufu from scratch, I mean making akpu from when the cassava tubers are harvested to the processing of fermented cassava into akpu and then cooking the fermented akpu and serving your cassava fufu with soup.

There are about five stages of making akpu before we see the final product sold at the markets:

1. First is the harvest of cassava tubers from the farm.
2. Peeling of the tubers and soaking for fermentation to take place.
3. Washing out the chaff from the akpu starch.
4. Drain out excess water.
5. Finally cooking the akpu fufu swallow.

 

HOW TO MAKE AKPU FROM CASSAVA TUBERS

To make akpu swallows from cassava tubers;

• To make akpu fufu at home from scratch. First peel of the skin from the harvested cassava tubers.
• Next, you wash the cassava with a sponge and clean water.
• Next step is to soak in plenty of water. Let your water be enough to cover the cassava and leave to ferment and soften for about three days. By the third day, your cassava would have softened and fermented just right. If you leave soaked for too many days, it continues to ferment and get more and more pungent.
• When you feel after three days and see that the softened cassava can be pressed with hands. Its soft enough to crush with your fingers. Then it’s ready for washing.  If not, leave for another day because cold weather delays the fermentation of soaked cassava.

 

Washing the fermented cassava into akpu

• Get a big bowl/basin of clean water, get a colander and with the colander slightly dipped in the basin of clean water, drop in the fermented cassava. Now with your left hand grabbing the colander, let the right hand move inside that colander washing the soft fermented cassava as the white starch goes into the water, leaving the chaff in the colander.
  Once you see that the starch is all gone into the water leaving you with the cassava chaff. squeeze the chaff of water and drop outside to be discarded. Repeat the washing in batches until the fermented cassava is finished and all you have is the washed starch in your basin of water.
• To separate the water from the starch that’s akpu and make it thicken for cooking, what you have to do now is to get a sack like empty salt sack, rice sack or garri sack.
• Pour in the washed watery akpu and tie the mouth of the bag.
• Let it lie on a hard clean surface with a heavy object placed on top. You can manually press out the water gently until it’s reduced and thickened.
• Let clean water continue to drain out of the sack leaving behind your starch in the sack.
• When all the water is drained and you can feel the akpu in the sack, it’s ready for cooking.
• Finally, empty the sack of it’s raw akpu  and store in an airtight container. From there you can take and cook whenever you want.

 

How to cook akpu from cassava starch

There are different methods of making akpu cassava fufu.

1. By wrapping in cellophane bags and boiling.
2. Moulding raw balls and dropping in boiling water to cook
3. By steaming in a stainless steel container.

I won’t encourage us to cook any food in cellophane bags, even though wrapping raw fermented cassava and cooking this way gives perfect cassava fufu. Healthwise, it’s not ok.

 

How to make akpu fufu by steaming

My favourite method of making akpu cassava fufu swallow is the steaming method. It’s easy. Scoop the quantity I need at a time, press into a stainless steel bowl and place in a pot of boiling water just like when we cook moi moi in containers. With the water right below the bowl so it doesn’t overflow and mess up your fufu.  Put a lid on the pot and cook.

This method never fails but it takes a bit more time because the cooking is done twice.

 

Akpu fufu cooking steps

How to make akpu from scratch

So, as the water boils in the cooking pot, your akpu heats up and steams until it begins to cook. Let it boil for about 30 minutes. Take out from the pot. Empty the cooked cassava paste into a mortar and poun well with a pestle. If it’s too hard, add some warm water while pounding and continue until its smooth and a bit elastic enough to make into moulds.

• The final stage is to boil some water in another pot. Place some sticks or gauze under the pot to prevent sticking.
• When the water begins to boil, mould the pounded akpu into balls and gently drop in the boiling water.
• Put the lid back on the pot and let it boil for another 10 minutes or till your akpu is cooked.
• Pound again till soft and smooth, add water while pounding to soften it more to your desire.
• Remove from the mortar and wrap in cellophane bags for serving.
• Serve your akpu fufu also known as cassava fusu with any soup of choice.

That’s how to make cassava fufu from scratch.

 

How do you make yours?

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