{{Short description|Granular flour from fermented cassava}} {{Italic title}} {{other uses}} thumb|Garri flour [[File:Individual plate of garri to eat by hand with fish and greens, Baba1 (5570984125).jpg|thumb|Cooked garri (eba) on a plate in Cameroon]]
In West Africa, '''''garri''''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɡ|æ|r|i|audio=LL-Q33578 (ibo)-Newtrains-Garri.wav}}; also known as '''''gari''''', '''''galli''''', or '''''gali''''') is a flour, varying in texture from coarse to fine, made from fresh, starchy cassava root. Its preparation minimizes raw cassava’s content of toxic cyanide.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vasconcelos |first1=A. T. |last2=Twiddy |first2=D. R. |date=April 1990 |title=Detoxification of cassava during gari preparation |url= |journal=International Journal of Food Science and Technology |volume=25 |issue=2 |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |pages=198-203 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2621.1990.tb01074.x}}</ref> Garri is similar to the cassava-derived ''farinha de mandioca'' from Brazil, which is used in many food preparations, including ''farofa'', particularly in the Nordeste region. Cassava is rich in fiber, copper, and magnesium.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nwosu |first=Martin|date=2023-08-23 |title=10 Amazing Health Benefits of Garri |url=https://www.nccmed.com/10-amazing-health-benefits-of-garri/ |access-date=2023-08-23 |website=Nccmed |language=en-us}}</ref>
In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to flours made from other crops, such as guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Food Culture in Sub-Saharan Africa |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |year=2009 |isbn=978-0313343651}}</ref> For example, ''garin dawa'' is made from guinea corn, ''garin masara'' and ''garin alkama'' originate from maize and wheat respectively, and ''garin magani'' is a powdered medicine. Such flours mixed with cold or hot water form a staple part of the diet in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon and Liberia.<ref>{{Cite book |title=African Foods and Foodways |publisher=Routledge |year=2017 |isbn=978-1138283432}}</ref>
==Preparation== thumb|Process of garri making thumb|A look into processing Cassava root into Garri (Cassava granules).
To be made into ''garri'' flour, cassava tubers are uprooted, peeled, washed, and grated or crushed to produce a mash. The mash, sometimes mixed with palm oil, is placed in a porous sack, which is then put under an adjustable press machine or iron presser for 1–24 hours to be extracted of excess water.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chinonye |first=Onyeagba Joseph |title=How To Prepare Garri From Cassava Tubersm |url=https://www.igboguide.org/guests/garri-process.htm |website= |location= |publisher=Micheal Widjaja |access-date=19 February 2026}}</ref> Once dried, it is sieved and fried in a large stainless steel frying pot or in a large aluminum frying tray, with or without palm oil. The resulting dry, granular garri can be stored for long periods. It may also be pounded or ground to make a fine flour.<ref name="gari">{{Cite web|title=Garri|url=http://www.africanfoods.co.uk/gari.html|access-date=August 6, 2015|publisher=African Foods}}</ref> ''Garri'' comes in various consistencies, including rough, medium and smooth, which are used to prepare different foods.
== Dishes == ''Eba'' is a stiff dough made by soaking ''garri'' in hot water and kneading it with a wooden baton until it becomes a smooth doughy staple. It is served as part of a meal with soups and sauces. Some of these include okra soup, ''egusi'' soup, vegetable soup, ''afang'' soup, ''banga'' soup and bitter leaf soup. Similar starchy doughs are found as staples in other African cuisines.
thumb|''Eba'' and ''egusi'' soup
''Kokoro'' is a Nigerian snack food common in southern and southeast Nigeria, especially Abia State, Rivers State, Anambra State, Enugu State and Imo State. It is made from a paste of maize flour, mixed with ''garri'' and sugar and deep-fried.
As a snack, cereal, or light meal, ''garri'' can be soaked in cold water (in which case it settles to the bottom), mixed with sugar or honey, and sometimes roasted peanuts and/or evaporated milk, also known as Soaking Garri. The amount of water needed for soaked ''garri'' is 3:1. ''Garri'' can also be eaten dry with sugar and roasted peanut. Other ingredients include coconut chunks, tiger nut milk, and cashews.
In Liberia, ''garri'' is used to make a dessert called ''kanyan'' which is combined with peanuts and honey.
thumb|upright|Dry garri flour
In its dry form, ''garri'' is used as an accompaniment for soft cooked beans and palm oil. This food mix is called ''yoo ke garri,'' or ''garri-fɔtɔ''/''galli-fɔtɔ'' (crushed garri) in the Ga language of Ghana and the Gen dialect of southern Togo and Benin. This type of garri is a mixture of moistened garri kneaded with a thickened tomato paste, oil, salt, seasonings. Yoo ke garri is garri with beans, which is typically eaten as lunch.<ref name=gari/> It is also eaten with bean cake (Akara) in Nigeria.
Smooth ''garri'' (known as ''lebu'' to the Yoruba) can be mixed with pepper and other spicy ingredients. A small amount of warm water and palm oil is added and softened by hand. This type of ''garri'' is served with fried fish. It is served with frejon on Good Friday.
In Nigeria, the Efik people use dry ''garri'' to thicken light soups like egg soup and white soup (also known as up and down soup)
==Variations== In West Africa, two types of garri include white and yellow garri''.'' Yellow ''garri'' is prepared by adding palm oil just before the fermenting stage of the cassava mash.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thewisebaker.com/garri-a-guide-to-west-africas-staple-food/ |title=Garri: A Guide to West Africa's Staple Food |date=16 September 2020 |publisher=The Wisebaker |access-date=2021-06-13}}</ref> Alternatively, it can be made using the yellow-fleshed breed of cassava. White garri on the other hand is fried without palm oil.
Variations of yellow and white ''garri'' are common across Nigeria and Cameroon. One variation of white ''garri'' is popularly known as ''garri-Ijebu''. This is produced mainly by the Yoruba people of Ijebu in Nigeria.
In Ghana, ''garri'' is classified by taste and grain size. The sweeter types with finer grains are more valued over sourer, large grain varieties. Commercial food vendors prefer coarser grains with high starch content, as this produces a greater yield when soaked in water.
Buyers often look out for crisper grains when trying to determine freshness.
==See also== {{portal|Food}}
* African cuisine * Similar cassava-based dishes ** Farofa ** Fufu ** Ugali * Ogi (food) * Poi * List of African dishes * Tapai
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Garri (West Africa)}} *[http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/food/gari.html Gari on Ghanaweb.com] * [http://www.igboguide.org/guests/garri-process.htm Igbo guide on garri]
{{African cuisine}}
Category:Ghanaian cuisine Category:Nigerian cuisine Category:Igbo cuisine Category:Cameroonian cuisine Category:Fermented foods Category:Staple foods Category:Sierra Leonean cuisine Category:Yoruba cuisine Category:Liberian cuisine Category:Cassava dishes