Kouti (Cassava Croquettes)

Ingredients:

1kg fresh cassava tuber
salt, to taste

For the Pepper Sauce:
1l oil for deep frying
2 smoked fish fillets (bonga is traditional, but the fish sold in Asian supermarkets will work and, at a pinch, you can substitute smoked mackerel or even kippers)
25g sanfoui (dried prawn [shrimp] powder)
2 onions
4 large, hot chillies
2 Maggi cubes

Method:

Cut the cassava into thick slices and peel them. Wash thoroughly then place in a bowl of water (this prevents them from browning and activating the cyanogen compounds within).

When needed, take a piece of cassava and grate medium-coarse. Mound the grated cassava in a cloth then wring as hard as you can to extract the starchy juice (discard this). Turn the dried cassava pulp into a bowl and season to taste with salt.

Take a ball of the cassava mix and squeeze in your hands to compress then roll into a stick shape (these are your croquettes).

Heat oil either in a deep pan or a deep fryer. When the oil has reached 180°C, add the cassava croquettes in small batches and fry until golden brown all over. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper as you cook the next batch.

For the hot pepper sauce: Peel and quarter the onion. Wash the smoked fish fillets then flake the flesh, removing as many of the bones as you can as you do so. Halve the hot chillies and remove the stalks.

Heat a little oil in a pan, add all the ingredients and fry for a few minutes, or until the ingredients have softened. Add the prawn powder and crumble in the Maggi cubes. Bring to a simmer and cook for a few minutes. Turn into a mortar and pound to a paste then return to the pan and heat through.

Serve the kouti (cassava croquettes) accompanied by the pepper sauce.