Plantain & Cassava Fufu with Ghanaian Goat Light Soup

⏱ 110 min · Serves 4

Smooth, stretchy fufu paired with a fiery, aromatic light soup — goat simmered slowly with charred tomatoes, garden eggs and grains of selim until the broth is deep red and singing with pepper. It's the Sunday bowl that makes everyone go quiet at the table.

Per serving: 720 kcal · 46.0g protein · 95.0g carbs · 16.0g fat

Ingredients

• 800g goat meat on the bone, cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, half roughly chopped, half quartered
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3cm piece ginger, peeled
• 6 ripe plum tomatoes
• 2 scotch bonnet chillies (1 for mild)
• 4 garden eggs (African aubergines) or 1 small aubergine
• 1 tbsp ground dried shrimp or 1 stock cube
• 2 pods grains of selim (hwentia), lightly toasted
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1.5 litres water
• 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• 1 handful fresh basil or 'nunum' leaves (optional)
• For the fufu:
• 2 packets (500g) plantain fufu flour, or cassava & plantain fufu mix
• 1.2 litres water

Method

1. Rinse the goat meat well. Blend the chopped onion, garlic and ginger to a paste and rub over the meat in a heavy pot with 1 tsp salt and the ground dried shrimp.
2. Set the pot over medium heat, cover and let the meat steam in its own juices for 12–15 minutes, stirring once, until aromatic and browned at the edges.
3. Add 1.5 litres water, the grains of selim pods and the quartered onion. Bring to a boil, skim, then simmer covered for 45 minutes until the goat is tender.
4. Meanwhile, put the tomatoes, scotch bonnets and garden eggs into a small pan with a ladle of the stock and simmer 12 minutes until soft.
5. Lift out the tomatoes, chillies and garden eggs. Peel the garden eggs if the skins are tough, then blend everything smooth with a little stock.
6. Pour the blended mixture into the soup pot through a sieve, pressing to leave seeds behind. Add the chilli flakes and simmer uncovered 20–25 minutes until the broth is glossy, red and no longer raw-tasting.
7. Fish out the grains of selim pods. Season with salt to taste, drop in the basil leaves and turn off the heat.
8. For the fufu: bring 1.2 litres water to a boil in a wide pan. Lower the heat, rain in the fufu flour while stirring hard with a strong wooden spoon.
9. Keep stirring and folding over low heat for 8–10 minutes until the dough is thick, smooth, glossy and pulls away from the pan. Splash in a little hot water if it stiffens too much.
10. Wet your hands and shape into smooth balls. Serve each in a wide bowl, ladle over the hot light soup and goat, and eat with your fingers — no chewing the fufu, just swallow.