Cassava Leaves and Rice

Cassava Leaves and Rice

Happy Independence Day mama Sierra Leone! What better day to make the nation’s favourite dish (in my opinion). Cassava Leaves is the leaf of the root vegetable cassava most commonly used as a staple food across West Africa. It is prepared as a sauce to be served with rice. 

 Almost every Sierra Leonean will say Cassava leaves is their favourite dish. There is a debate in Sierra Leone about which tribe cooks the best cassava leaves. In my opinion, the draw is between The Mendes and The Fullahs. The best I’ve had was when I first visited Kambia district during the Christmas holidays in 2007. The dish was inexplicably delicious. I still remember to this day how much I enjoyed it. Yum, yum yum!

Ingredients

Follow the simple steps below and bring a party to your taste buds. Aprons on!

 

Ingredients

1.      A pack of grounded Cassava Leaves

2.      300ml of Palm oil

3.      Pack of Ogiri

4.      4 table spoons Peanut butter (smooth)

5.      Meat or chicken

6.      smoked fish

7.      Scotch bonnet pepper (to your taste)

8.      3 Onions

9.      Maggie season

10.   Salt (to your taste)

11.  Tola (This a powdered condiment that has a slimy effect when add to sauces) or okra

Pot of Cassava Leaves

Directions

1.      Blend onions and scotch pepper with ogiri. This should look like a thick smooth paste.

2.      Add the above mixture and your meat in a pot then and add 2 pints of water.

3.      Boil for 20 minutes or until the meat is soft.

4.      Meanwhile mix the peanut better with 50ml of water so it is slightly watery.

5.      Add cassava leaves, peanut butter a cup of water and leave to boil for 20-30min or until the leaves have a slight brown colour and you cannot smell the rawness of the leaves.

6.      Add the palm oil, maggie season, and salt to taste then, leave pot to boil for a further 15min.

7.      Finally add okra or tola whichever is at your disposal and let the sauce cook for a further 5-10 min or until the palm oil is floating.

Voila! Dish is done! 

Cassava Leaves and Rice