We are the lucky ones, we are often invited for a visit and lunch at our friends' place up the mountain. Ysabel is a very fine Dominican lady and she definitely can cook. She cooks the best Dominican sancocho soup among others. While she was preparing lunch I noticed the new dish was in line to be cooked that I hadn't seen the whole time in this land. It consisted of a mixture which half a bowl is shredded cassava (Yuca is what they called it here), some beaten eggs and some seeds which I initially thought it was cumins (duh!). After an investigation and interview, I obtained the recipe! She mentioned about varieties of this dish too but I'll repeat what she did for now. Thanks a lot Ysabel!
The mixture was devided and formed into some kind of balls (almost), when they are done, the colour is golden brown and they taste so good. Quite addictive too! My children also love it. This goes on the plate together with your lunch or just like how we prefer, as snack.
Ingredients:
2 medium size cassavas
4 eggs
1 tsp anise seeds
1 1/3 tsp salt
2 cups vegetable oil
Directions:
1. Peel the cassavas, I don't recommend to use the peeler since the peel is very thick. The best way to take the peel out without damaging or wasting the root is running a sharp knife horizontally on it and tilt the knife left right as you go. You'll hear cracking sound then you can peel it off using the fingers or with help from the knife depend on the roots you have. See how clean and smooth your cassavas are!
2. Using a fine shred side of the grater to shred the "shiny" cassavas. It should yield five cups full. Bring it to a mixing bowl
3. In a seperate bowl, beat the eggs lightly and sprinkle some salts
4. Pour it over the shredded cassavas
5. Lastly, put the anise seeds and remaining salt. Mix well
Cooking:
1. Heating up the oil in a skillet on medium heat
2. Using two table spoons, one spoon scooping out the mixture and using another to shape it a little bit
3. Once the oil is hot, put the scooped mixture in. Leave some rooms between each piece
4. Do not turn until you're sure the colour at the bottom turns golden brown. It usually takes about 10 minutes. When both sides are done, transfer your arepas to the plate with paper towels. Continue with the remaining mixture. And then reward yourself a bite or two of the crispy arepas! :-)
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I just love Cassava or Tapioca. This recipe looks great, and we will sure try it one day.. When I lived in Tanzania, East Africa, we used to eat a lot of Cassava (called mhogo there) and of of my favorites was Cassava with coconut sauce. Much recommended.
ReplyDeleteOne day try out this wonderful recipe I got from a Tanzanian friend:
Sometimes I have this plain and sometimes I add bits of meat and potatoes to make it richer. It's a fantastic and very filling dish that we love with a bit of red chutney and a squeeze of lemon! I like keeping this dish simple and serving it with some meat dish.
Ingredients
500gm cassava/tapioca, peeled and chopped into small bits
1 cup thick/heavy coconut milk
1 cup thin/light coconut milk
salt to taste
1-2 green chillies, chopped
some chopped coriander
1/4 tsp. garlic paste
juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
Put the cassava pieces into a pan, and cover with water. Add salt and garlic paste, and a bit of chopped coriander plus the green chillies. Bring to a gentle simmer until the cassava are soft enough for a knife to pierce into them easily. Drain the water and put them back in the pan. Add the thin coconut milk and boil for about 15 minutes on gentle heat until it starts to thicken and the cassava pieces soften some more. Adjust salt and chili (you can add some chilli powder if you like).
Once the cassava pieces are completely soft and most of the thin coconut milk has evaporated, add the heavy coconut milk and simmer for a few minutes, stirring every few minutes until the cassava are well-coated with the thick coconut sauce. Adjust salt, then squeeze the lemon juice and turn off. Garnish with coriander and serve hot with a meat/fish dish of your choice!
Thank you Axel !
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