Congolese Cassava Pondu and Fufu Nosh
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Farming Cassava Leaves |
Fufu is rolled into golf ball-sized balls, an indentation is made with the right finger and then dipped into a soup, sauce or stew in order to soak-up the flavor .
Cassava is known by many names depending on where you live on this planet; the most common names for cassava are manioc, yucca, yuca, mandioca, and tapioca. Cassava originated from tropical America and cassava was first introduced into Africa in the Congo Basin by the Portuguese around 1558.
Africans eat around 176 pounds or 80 kilograms of cassava per year per person. It is estimated that 37% of dietary energy comes from cassava. The Democratic Republic of Congo is the largest consumer of cassava in sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Nigeria, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire.
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Cooked Congolese Cassava |
Congolese Pondu and Fufu Cassava Nosh
Congolese Pondu Cassava Recipe
Ingredients
4 handfuls cassava leaves, chopped
3 medium pieces smoked fish
1 medium white onion, diced
1 hot pepper, chopped
1 cup of palm oil
1 large diced tomato
Directions
In a large pot, add oil, and onions over medium-high heat and cook onions until soft and light brown. Add smoked fish, chopped hot pepper then cassava leaves, stir and cover 5 minutes. When leaves are cooked soft or with some bite left in them serve with fufu.
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Pounding fufu in the Congo |
Congolese Cassava Fufu Recipe
3 peeled and boiled cassavas
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
Water for boiling
Directions
In a large pot place the peeled and evenly cut cassava and cover with water. Boil until soft about 20 minutes. Place the salt, flour, and cassava in a mixer and knead until the consistency of soft dough is achieved. Fufu should be much stiffer than mashed potatoes in texture.
