How to make Eba!

I bet that some folks in my country would drag you to hell and back if you dare utter on the streets that you can’t make the famous Eba; a staple made from fermented Cassava flakes. 

Don’t mind them biko, it is not the criteria for making heaven please. But that being said, if you are Nigerian and you can’t make Eba to save your life, fear not I dey here for you! (I am here for you)

See it’s not like I  particularly grew up loving or making Eba. Infact, at a point in my naive teenage years, I used to think it was a meal for the less privileged. However, I discovered that even affluent people genuinely love Eba for it’s sweet and sour taste. 

The most intriguing part of Eba is that only two ingredients are needed to make it! Just water and some cassava flakes a. k.a Garri! 

Let’s have some brief history of this swallow called Eba before we go into it’s preparation. Shall we?

What is Eba and where did this meal originate from?

Eba originates from the Yoruba people of the Southwest Nigeria. It is a common staple made from fried, grated cassava flour popularly known as Garri. 

Garri could be taken as a cereal, where it is made to swim in room temperature/cold water alongside some other side treats such as groundnuts, cashew nuts, sugar and milk.

                        OR 

It could be moulded into our main focus for today; Eba, in which case it is prepared with hot boiling water and served with any Nigerian soup of your choice including Egusi soup, okra.

How is it made? 

Like I mentioned earlier, you need just two ingredients to make eba, they include Cassava flakes (Garri) and Water (Hot water). Shocking, isn’t it?

It is also important to inform you about the two types of cassava flakes we have, the white Garri (which is fried without palm oil) and the yellow Garri (which is fried with some palm oil).  I had to point this out to ensure you are informed, and that you don’t get confused when you see Eba in two different colours. 

Now the best part of making Eba is that it is a very merciful swallow unlike its other counterparts. In other words, it is very forgiving and rarely goes side ways. 

Let’s look into the instructions for preparation

The first thing to note is that Eba considered improperly made, is one that has lumps in it. To avoid lumps in Eba, it is important to ensure that the water never overwhelms your Garri from the start. 

Now, Eba could be made using the microwave or the stove/gas top.

The stove/gas top

• Boil a cup of water and pour it a bowl
• Get 1/2 cup of Garri and slowly pour it into the hot water till it starts to absorb the water
• Use your wooden spatula to mix together and get it lump free
• You could regulate the texture of your Eba by either adding more Garri or hot water as the case maybe, to make it thicker or softer

For the microwave method

• Add garri to a microwaveable bowl and cover with cold water, make sure they are at same level)
• Transfer the bowl to the microwave.
• Turn the Microwave settings to high for 2 minutes, then take out your bowl and turn your eba mix together to combine. Mould eba and serve immediately with Nigerian soup of choice.

There you go!
Eba is ready in five minutes or less. This is such a time saving, easy meal! If you have never tried it before, give it a go and let me know what you think. Till later foodies.