Oat fufu with kale riro recipe
Try this quick and easy African "swallow" served with our healthy kale riro – an oil-free spin on the delicious west African vegetable soup.
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Serves 4
Ingredients
Riro
- 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon hot pepper powder
- 170g red onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 low-salt seasoning cube (5g)
- 70g garden egg (white aubergine), chopped
- 100g yellow bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 100g red bell pepper, deseeded and chopped
- 25g locust beans (also called iru, dawa-dawa or ogiri)
- 200g peeled prawns
- 150g kale, washed and chopped
- 20g dried crayfish
Fufu
- 250g porridge oats
- 300ml cold water
- 200ml boiling water
Method
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Add the chopped tomatoes, hot pepper, onion, curry powder and crumbled seasoning cube to a medium-sized pot. Cook on medium heat, stirring continuously for 5 minutes.
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Stir in the garden egg, yellow and red peppers, and locust beans. Cover and cook for a further 8 to 10 minutes on medium heat.
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Add the prawns and kale, and sprinkle in the dried crayfish. Stir well to combine all the ingredients, then cover and allow to steam on low heat for 7 minutes.
Information:For a vegetarian version, swap out the crayfish and prawns for vegetables like mushrooms and okro. If you want a more traditional taste, add bitter leaf.
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To make the fufu, add the porridge oats and cold water to a food blender. Allow to soak for a minute or so and then blend until smooth. If you like a more coarse texture, blend for less time.
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Pour the mixture into a non-stick pot and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously until it starts to thicken. Once the oats become more solid and dough-like, stir more forcefully, pounding the mixture for 3 to 4 minutes, until it becomes thick and stretchy. The mixture can burn easily, so don't take your eye off it!
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Lower the heat and use the wooden spoon to create 4 or 5 wells in the mixture. Add 150 to 200ml of boiling water, then cover the pot and allow to "cook" on low heat for 5 minutes.
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Carry on mixing for another 3 to 4 minutes using a pounding motion until you have a soft, sticky "dough". Remove from the heat, divide into portions and serve with the kale riro.
