Top 10 Nutrient Dense Soaking Garri Recipes
The Presbyterian Comprehensive Secondary School Buea, Southwest Region of Cameroon holds my most cherished memories of soaking garri! Garri was (and still is) always an item on the list of provisions for students and almost all the students had garri in their trunks. One of the main garri processing production plants is in the Southwest Region of Cameroon in Muyuka Subdivision. Muyuka garri has a unique sour taste that comes from fermenting cassava during the garri production process. When it was time to go back to boarding school, my grandmother made sure I had Muyuka garri. Just like her, other parents bought Muyuka garri for their children. I tell you this garri was the “IT” and the ultimate ingredient to make soaking garri. Yes!!! the staple food for many boarding school students in Cameroon.
We made soaking garri in varieties and ate it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even as a snack. An easy way to enoy soaking garri is a simple mixture of garri, water, and sugar (or a pinch of salt). But if you’ve ever tried that mixture, you’ll notice that you get hungry again shortly after! That’s because garri itself lacks some essential nutrients. Therefore, continuous consumption of the soaking garri with just salt/sugar can cause Hidden Hunger. Hidden Hunger, or micronutrient deficiencies, is a form of undernutrition that occurs when the quality of foods does not meet the nutrient requirements for the body. This means that the foods are low in vitamins and minerals such as zinc, iodine, and iron which are needed for the body to maintain good health and development. So to satisfy your soaking garri craving for the long run, I’ve shared my top 10 delicious ways to fortify your “Cold Watta Garri”.
The World Health Organization defines Food Fortification as the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient in food to improve the nutritional quality of the food. This then provides public health benefits with minimal risk to health. The term fortification may sound new to many who consume soaking garri, however, if you’ve ever satisfied your cravings for soaking garri in any of the varieties below, you’ve been practicing food fortification all along!
Click play on the video below to cook along with me or scroll past the video to follow the written instructions as we take another trip down memory lane to collate ten ways to fortify and enjoy your soaking garri.
Dish: Drinking Garri/ Garri Soakings/Garri Flakes/Garri Cereal
Country: West African Countries
#1 . U L T R A N U T R I F O R T I F I E D
S O A K I N G G A R R I
Ingredients
a. 1/2 cup Garri
b. Avocado
c. Peak Milk
d. Sugar
e. Roasted Peanuts
f. Water
Cooking Instructions
Pour half a cup of garri into a bowl and add enough cold water to reach the level of the garri in the bowl.
Stir the garri to allow the central fibrous cord (from the processed cassava)to float, then drain the water. Repeat this process as much as needed to rinse the garri of the central fibrous cords.
Add water into the bowl of garri to your desired quantity and stir.
Add ice cubes, sugar, peanut, milk and avocado and stir.
Enjoy!
The Ultranutrifortified Soaking Garri is by far my favorite soaking garri combination and is the recipe I recreate in the cooking video above. You can fortify your soaking garri with any foods of your choice that are rich in vitamins and minerals, but below are the Top 10 soaking garri recipes that I believe are the absolute best-
2. OVALTINE/MILO FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
2 Tablespoons Ovaltine or Milo
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes (Optional)
3. SEAFOOD FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
j. Smoked or Fried Fish of Choice
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
4. BANANA FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
d. 1Ripe Banana
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes(Optional)
5. PEANUT FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
g. ¼ Cup Roasted Peanut
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes(Optional)
6. COCONUT FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
f. Fresh Coconut or Coconut Flakes
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
Coconut Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes(Optional)
7. BEANS FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
i. Cooked Beans (Full Recipe)
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
8. AVOCADO FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
h. 1/2 Avocado
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes(Optional)
9. LACTOSE FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
c. 2 Tablespoons Powdered, Evaporated or Condensed Milk
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes (Optional)
10. PEANUT AND LACTOSE FORTIFIED SOAKING GARRI
Ingredients
a. 1/2 Cup Garri
g. ¼ Cup Roasted Peanut
b. Sugar (Quantity is as Desired)
c. 2 Tablespoons Powdered, Evaporated or Condensed Milk
Water (Cold or Room Temperature)
Ice Cubes (Optional)
