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Gari soakings
Gari soakings: the cooling bowl of cassava grains, cold water, milk, sugar and roasted groundnuts
Every Ghanaian who went to boarding school has a story about gari soakings, the cheap, quick fill-up that keeps students going between meals, and on hot Accra afternoons it is still the snack people make without thinking. Toasted cassava grains are soaked in cold water until they swell, then sweetened with sugar and evaporated milk and topped with roasted groundnuts, so it is cool, slightly sour, creamy and crunchy at once. Some add ice cubes or a little coconut. For a vegan bowl, swap the milk for coconut milk. A common slip is adding the groundnuts too early, so they go soft; scatter them on just before eating. Chef's tip: rinse the gari first and pour away the cloudy water with any floating husks, which makes the bowl cleaner and less sandy; eat it within a few minutes, before the grains go mushy.
- Total time
- 5 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 1
Ingredients
- 2 ⅞ oz gariwhite or yellow
- 1 ¼ cups cold water
- 2 tbsp sugarto taste
- 3 tbsp evaporated milkor coconut milk for vegan
- 1 oz roasted groundnutsskinned
- 3 ice cubes (optional)
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅞ oz gari in a bowl and pour over about half of ¾ cup cold water. Swirl, let it settle for a few seconds and tip away the cloudy water and anything floating on top.
1 minStep 2: Pour over the rest of ¾ cup cold water and leave for 2 minutes until the grains swell and soften.
2 minStep 3: Stir in 2 tbsp sugar, drizzle over 3 tbsp evaporated milk and add 3 ice cubes, if using.
1 minStep 4: Scatter over 1 oz roasted groundnuts and eat straight away with a spoon.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 480 kcal
- Protein
- 12 g
- Carbs
- 82 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 6 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does gari soakings take?
- About 5 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 1 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of evaporated milk?
- Oat, soy or almond milk, same amount (use unsweetened for savoury dishes).
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