How to make Africa Salad (Dry abacha/tapioca)? Step by Step. Tips, Side effects

Last updated on February 23rd, 2023 at 10:28 pm

10 minutes read.  

 Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is a staple crop that is important for food security in the tropics.

Cassava is a root vegetable crop that serves as the major source of calories (energy) or carbohydrates in many parts of the world.

 It can be used to formulate many kinds of foods that can be stored for a long time such as abacha/tapioca (Africa salad), fufu (akpu), garri, alibo(local flour), industrially processed flour, etc

Our body needs carbohydrates in large amounts because it easily reserves the excess without damaging the body system. However, other nutrients like protein and fats are off cause special importance to the body, which demands the addition of it to any of our diets.

Cassava normally passed through several processing stages before it you can safely consume it.

When I was much younger, I assisted my mom in processing all kinds of cassava products, especially abacha (tapioca).

Because cassava is a source of food security, you can store it for a long, every year my mom normally processes the cassava in the form of abacha and store it safely.

During the time of cassava scarcity especially in the rainy season when people are planting new cassava she brings it out and uses it to prepare all kinds of nutritious recipes for me and my siblings.

Sometimes she processed it in a way we can eat it right away without having to store it. That type is called abacha mmiri (wet tapioca).

So I actually learned how to process cassava in the form of abacha from her because I love eating the food.

That’s what I have decided to share with you today so that you may learn it as well. So any time you want to enjoy tapioca (African salad) you must not go and buy from the market, rather you can think creatively and apply the simple steps I am going to show you in this article.

Let’s jump in ok.

• Nutrition facts of cassava
• Equipment you need
• Methods
• Side effect
• Abacha Recipe Tip

But before I begin, let me show you the nutrition facts of cassava.

Nutrition facts about cassava

Raw Cassava:

Amount per 100 grams

Nutrients                       % Daily Value

Calories:      159

Total Fat: 0.3 g.                         0 %

Saturated fat: 0.1 g.                  0 %

Cholesterol: 0 mg                     0 %

Sodium:      14 mg                     0 %

Potassium:   271 mg.                  7 %

Total Carbohydrate: 38 g            12 %

Dietary fiber: 1.8 g                      7 %

Sugar:         1.7 g

Protein:       1.4 g.                      2 %

Vitamin C:  34%

Calcium:     1%

Iron:  1%   

Vitamin B6 (Cobalamin):   5%   0 %

Magnesium 5%             

Tip

“Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs”

Equipment you need

• Hoe or shovel or digger or Cutlass.
• Basin or any container to carry the cassava from your farm.
• Cooking pot
• 4 clean bowls (size may vary depending on the quantity you are preparing)
• Sharp kitchen knife
• Small aluminum hand grater
• Sieve (medium/big)
• A flat tray for waste material.
• 2 to 3 very clean long and wide sack bags.
• A flat clean floor or space or surface
• Very clean source of water
• Strong sunshine or dry weather like the harmattan period and
• Kitchen seat.

Preparation time

1, 2 to 3 hours depending on the quantity you want to prepare.

Methods

Step one

Harvesting

Harvest the cassava (akpu) using a hoe, shovel, digger, or Cutlass.

Remove the cassava from the root stem using a cutlass.

Step two

Washing and Cooking

Wash the cassava twice in clean water and arrange it inside the pot you want to use for cooking.

Tip

Washing it twice helps you to get rid of the sand on it properly.

The amount of water you add to it matters a lot because it doesn’t need much water while cooking. No matter the size of your cassava, just make sure the water covers the bottom of the pot, that’s all.

Pour 75cl of clean water into it, that’s to say one bottle of water or one can of water or one big cup of water.

Cooking

You can cook with either visible flames like when you use cooking gas/kerosene stove/firewood or strong heat like when you use electric stove/heater/charcoal.

Make sure you cover the pot properly because it needs internal heat. Place it on fire and cook for 20 minutes or most 25 minutes. 

Though some cassava can be strong, it highly depends on the nature of the soil that produces it. But no matter the soil texture, the cooking time must not pass 30 minutes. Take note.

Once you put it on fire, stay around and time it. If you’re using an electric stove, begin to time it the moment the water gets hot. If you’re using visible flames, begin to time it the moment you place it on the flames.

Tip

Cooking time is the critical moment because if it gets overcooked you can no longer process it as it should. Your end product will be messed up, and it will take more time and become more stressful to process.

How do you know when is done?

Once the skin of two or three cassava breaks, just know that all of them are done. Once in 20 minutes open the pot, and you will see that about one or two of the cassava, the skin has broken.

Maybe you can add extra 5 minutes of cooking while covering the pot, but make sure you stand beside it because at this moment an extra 2 minutes can cause overcooking.

Now it’s done, off your cooking fire and uses a knife to remove it into a bowl/sieve.

Allow it to cool for 20 minutes before you start removing the skin.

Step three

Preparation

Now the cooked cassava is cool. Use the kitchen knife to remove the skin. When you remove the skin, you will have a light yellow color of cassava. As you’re removing the skin, also use the knife to cut off both edges of the cassava. This helps you remove any stubborn sand\dirt that still settles on the edges.

Naturally, cassava flesh is white when you remove the skin, but after cooking it changes to light yellow.

Now you have a light yellow cassava in a bowl or a sieve.

Get two bowls (big and small)

Pour two cups of water into the small bowl.

Get the hand grater in your right hand and pick one cassava with your left hand, holding both firmly in your hands. Start grating the cassava into the bigger bowl by moving the grater firmly on the surface of the cassava.

As you do it, you will be receiving a tiny lined form of cassava that looks like noodles. That’s what’s called abacha. But you’re not done the process continues.

Continue grating until you finish the quantity of cassava you cook.

As you grate the cassava you’re holding in your hand, it continues to reduce in size until it gets to a smaller size that you can no longer get enough flesh from the cassava. When it gets to that size, stop. Later I will tell you how to process that one.

If you try to continue the grater can injure your fingers.

Tip

As you grate rotate the cassava side by side to get enough flesh from the cassava.

Also, as you grate, put the grater inside the water in the small bowl and shake it hard with your hand. This helps to remove any cassava particles that will block the openings of the grater. When you do this, the openings of the grater become free and the grating process becomes smoother.

Precaution

Very important, don’t allow water to touch the left hand you’re using to hold the cassava, if water touches your left hand or the cassava you’re holding either your hand or the cassava will become slippy, and you can’t hold it firm anymore. Be very careful because this can cause the grater to injure your fingers.

Now you have finished grating the cooked cassava. You have your sieve or bowl filled with noodles like a product called abacha/ogodo.

Warning!

Please don’t try to eat yet. At this point, the abacha still contains too many tannins and cellulose which makes it very gummy. This can seriously upset your stomach.

I hope you’re getting value.

Step four

Washing the abacha

Remember I said you should have a stand-by source of very clean water.

Pour water into the bowl containing the abacha until the water covers it.

Start washing by using your two hands, gather it together, and gently rub it against each other inside the water for about 3 minutes. Robbing it together against each other helps you to release the excess cellulose from the abacha into the water.

Then get the bowl you used for removing particles from the grater or use the sieve and put it inside the bowl. Then wash the abacha and transfer it into the bowl or the sieve. Repeat the process 4 to 5 times.

After each washing, stage, throw away the water, and pour new water. That’s, wash the abacha until the water becomes clean.

Observation

The first and second sets of water you use for washing, will look cloudy and drawing. While the fourth and fifth stet of water will look clear and somehow transparent. At this stage, the gummy nature of the abacha will disappear.

At this stage, you should transfer the abacha into the sieve and allow the water in it to drain for about 10 to 15 minutes before you jump into the next step.

Now anybody can eat. It’s very sweet and tasty. This one is called abacha mmiri (meaning wet abacha).

Step Five

Spreading the abacha under the sunshine

Arrange a flat surface that is safe, and secure from sand and pests like local fowl, birds, and goats. These are animals that can eat it.

Spread the sack on a flat surface. Make sure the sack bags are washed and drained with water to avoid introducing sand into the abacha.

Start spreading the abacha little by little on the sack. After which allow it to stay under the sunshine for the whole day (meaning it should stay under the sun for about 7 hours).

Tip

If you want it to dry fast.

After 4 hours, come and try turning the abacha upside-down so that those under will come on top and those on top will go under. This will help the ones who may not be receiving direct sunlight to receive it and get dry before the day runs out.

However, Depending on the hotness and dryness of your weather, it may dry properly in a day.

But if yours did not dry in a day until night starts coming, gently pack it together with the sacks and take it inside your room, spread it on the same sack, and allow it to stay at room temperature or under the electric fan.  Then the next day you can return it to sunshine until it dries properly.

Step Six

Packaging and storing the dry abacha.

How do you know the abacha is properly dry?

You know it’s dry properly when you feel it with your hand, and it becomes clips like dried noodles.

How do you store the dry abacha?

Get a separate washed and dry sack or nylon bag, and gently package the abacha inside the bag. Please, when you’re packaging the dry abacha be gentle not to squeeze it much inside the bag to avoid breaking it into pieces because at this stage it’s very clips and fragile.

After which, tie the bag and keep it in a safe dry corner at room temperature in your house. This can last for about one year and still retain its freshly dry crunch taste

Tip

Any day you plan to prepare dry abacha, be sure to start it early so it can stay under the sun for a long period of time.

Step Seven

Do you remember I promised earlier to show you how you can process the small-size cassava that remains in your hand when you’re grating?

Here is how you can process those remains into similar food.  Done waste it yet.

Get a flat pan or bowl, use your kitchen knife cut each of the cassava into a shorter length, then bisect it into half and remove the white fibrous root in the middle of it.

Hold the bisected cassava in your left hand use the knife you’re holding in your right hand and gently slice into the flat pan/bowl to a very slim flat texture until all of them are finished.

Follow the same washing and spreading process as you did with the ones you use a grater to process. Also, follow the same storage process to store it.

Abacha Recipe Tip

For abacha mmiri

In Igbo land part of Africa you can use the abacha mmiri to prepare fresh black beans, add little fresh yellow/red pepper, fresh onions, fermented oil bean ( ukpaka/ugba), okpei (Africa spices), some people use ogiri (fermented castor oil instead of okpenye), most people add Maggi cubes but I don’t like adding Maggi, I love natural spices.

Then add garden eggs (any type), add little red palm oil (original) or any other edible oil, add groundnuts/peanuts, then add salt to your taste and mix it all together using your five fingers on a big plate/bowl/pot until everything blends well.

If you eat this recipe you will ask for more. If you check the ingredients in it, you will know that it’s filled with quality nutrients.

For dry abacha.

Any time you want to eat the dry abacha, boil water and soak it inside for about 5 minutes then pour it out into a sieve to drain the water.

After which you can use it to prepare porridge beans or dry black beans.

Or you can add red palm oil/other natural edible oil with any nutritious natural spices and ingredients of your choice just like I mentioned for abacha mmiri.

Side effect 

Dry abacha or abacha mmiri is completely safe for human consumption provided you follow the method I teach you in this article. No research have reported any side effect or allergy from eating abacha.

 The only thing that could trigger diarrhea after eating abacha is the type of ingredients you use in making it more delicious. For example, some people like adding ngwo(potash).

This potash is made from calcium carbonate gotten from the ground (akawu) while some are made from burning palm fruit pod and use the ash that comes from it to prepare the ngwo with little palm oil.

Whenever I eat abacha that contains ngwo(potash) I will have serious diarrhea at the end of the day. So if I am buying already made abacha from any seller I will tell you not to add the ngwo because is optional.

Most abacha sellers will always ask their customers before adding ngwo.

However, if you have another method of preparing tapioca that is safe, congratulation.

In addition, some individuals who are diagnosed with ulcers observed that eating abacha mmiri can increase the symptom but when they eat dry Abacha no problems.

I hope you get the value worth your time. I appreciate the time you send with me. Leave a comment if you like this post. If you have any questions, feel free to share them with me in the comment below.

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