Eba Piron Rouge (Beef and Red Gari)

Ingredients:

1kg beef (preferably meat from the oxtail or shin), cubed
500g gari (dried and ground cassava)
200ml tomato purée
1 fresh tomato, chopped
2 onions
1 bell pepper, finely chopped
15g ginger
2 garlic cloves
3 hot chillies
2 Maggi cubes
salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste

Method:

Peel the ginger and chop. Finely chop 1 onion then chop the garlic and 1 hot chilli. Mix in a mortar and crumble over the Maggi cube then pound to a paste.

Add the beef to a pot, cover with 1l water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 60 minutes, adding more water as needed.

When the meat is tender remove from the pan then fry in oil to colour and set aside.

Add the bell pepper, remaining onion (chopped), and tomato to the oil remaining in the pan for about 5 minutes or until soft. Turn onto a plate and set aside.

In a bowl, mix together the gari, tomato puree and the pounded spice blend. Mix by hand to form a dough.

Make the beef cooking stock up to 1.5l and bring to a boil. Gradually add the gari to the boiling water, stirring constantly until the paste is smooth (this is the piron). Continue cooking for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the gari mixture is thick and cooked (the piron should be thick enough to be moulded).

Serve the piron accompanied by the beef and the fried vegetables.