Making and eating cassava leaf sauce in Sierra Leone

[bubudi]

this video has english subtitles. the kids are making casada lif (cassava leaf sauce), also called jaki tomboi (in mende language). one boy tells how to make it, while the others finish his share of the dish! he comments on how only white people use metal spoons while africans use the 'natural spoon': s-p-o-o-n

[michi]

That's a really nice video

I ate cassava leaf in Mali, and it's absolutely delicious. Somewhat like spinach, but better. More substantial and more flavor. Highly recommended!

Cheers,

Michi.

[EvanP]

Bubudi, Michi,
Is the Maggi they refer to in the video the same stuff Germans use to flavor soups?

Evan

[michi]

Bubudi, Michi,
Is the Maggi they refer to in the video the same stuff Germans use to flavor soups?

Yes. At least I think so: I saw a bottle of the stuff in Taewa's kitchen

Michi.

[bubudi]

Bubudi, Michi,
Is the Maggi they refer to in the video the same stuff Germans use to flavor soups?

Yes. At least I think so: I saw a bottle of the stuff in Taewa's kitchen

interesting! sierra leoneans usually use the cubes, not the bottled stuff. i'm sure the result is similar, though. also, the name 'maggi' doesn't necessarily mean the maggi brand - jumbo stock cubes are very popular in sierra leone.

[EvanP]

It sounds like "maggi" is like "kleenex"--a brand that has become synonomous with the generic item. I'm not sure what's in Maggi, but it does make soup and stew better! In the US I've only seen it in liquid form, but you can get cubes of boullion (basically salt and meat flavoring) which are similar but different.

[bubudi]

this is one of the favourite dishes from sierra leone. so much in fact, that it's called plasas (short for 'palaver sauce') - a dish so good that arguments can start up over it!

[EvanP]

a dish so good that arguments can start up over it!

As in who makes the best, or as in who gets the last of it?

Any idea whether cassava would grow in temperate climates?

As an aside, I'm making an "African" lentil, garbanzo bean, squash stew and greens with ham hocks for dinner tonight. Quite a bit of Maggi in both, plus I doctored the lentils with some homemade berbere. It's smelling good in the house!

[bubudi]

both!

i grew cassava once and got a decent crop. cassava is a hardy plant that can survive almost anywhere except it doesn't tolerate frosts or waterlogged soil. be sure to aerate the soil well before planting and mix with plenty manure, then top up with mulch. west africans often intersperse cassava with peanuts and other crops.