Fufu
Pounded West African staple made from cassava, plantains, or cocoyam.
Fufu (also spelled fufuo, foofoo, foufou, or foo-foo) is a pounded dish from West Africa, traditionally made by boiling and mashing cassava, plantains, or cocoyam. Its presence in the region is recorded in literature like Chinua Achebe's *Things Fall Apart*. The word comes from the Twi language of the Akan people in Ghana, though it now refers to many similar pounded meals across Africa and in parts of the Greater Antilles and Central America where African cooking has had a strong influence.
In Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Liberia, fufu is prepared by pounding equal parts boiled cassava with green plantain or cocoyam, or by stirring cassava, plantain, or cocoyam flour with water on a stove until it thickens. The consistency is adjusted to taste, and the dough is eaten with broth-like soups. In Nigeria, fufu is made from fermented cassava, yam, plantain, or other starches, each giving it a distinct thickness and flavor, and it is served with soups such as egusi or ogbono, along with vegetables, beef, or fish. More recently, flours like wheat semolina, maize flour, or mashed plantains have replaced cassava in some urban or diaspora households, while rural families with farmland still use the original cassava recipe. Fufu is traditionally eaten with the fingers: a small ball is pinched off and dipped into a soup or sauce.
The dish goes by many names across the continent. In Angola it is called funge or fúngi, in Benin santana or foufou, in Burkina Faso tô, in Cameroon couscous or couscous de manioc, in the Central African Republic foufou, in the two Congos fufú, moteke, luku, or bidia, in Gabon foufou, in Ghana fufu, fufuo, or sakɔro, in Haiti tomtom, in Ivory Coast foutou or foufou, in Liberia fufu, in Mozambique sadja, sadza, or xima, in Nigeria fufu, santana, akpụ, ụtara, loi-loi, swallow, or tuk rogo, in Sierra Leone foofoo, and in Togo foufou.
Before Portuguese traders brought cassava from Brazil to Africa in the 1500s, fufu was mainly made from cocoyam, plantain, and yams. The traditional way to eat it remains pinching off a piece with the right hand, rolling it into a ball, and dipping it in soup.
In Angola, fufu appears as fungi or fungee, a national dish made with cornmeal and okra. In Ivory Coast, the term foutou is also used: foufou there refers to mashed sweet plantains, while foutou is a heavier paste made from yam, cassava, plantain, taro, or a mix
- origin
- Ghana (Akan people)
- main_ingredients
- Cassava, plantains, cocoyam
- variations
- Found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Republic of Congo, Angola, Gabon, and Caribbean natio
- traditional_eating_method
- Eaten with the fingers; a small ball dipped into soup or sauce
- notable_literary_reference
- Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart
Lore & Background
Before Portuguese traders introduced cassava to Africa from Brazil in the 16th century, fufu was mainly made from cocoyam, plantain, and yams. The traditional method of eating fufu is to pinch some off in one's right-hand fingers and form it into a round ball, then dip it in soup before eating. In Ghana, it is believed to originate with the Asante, Akuapem, Akyem, Bono, and Fante people of the Akan ethnic group. According to historian Miller, the word fufu literally means 'white' in Twi, likely derived from the whitish colour of the cassava component in Ghanaian fufu.
Reader's Guide
Fufu is a foundational dish across West and Central Africa and parts of the Caribbean, reflecting deep culinary traditions and the spread of African foodways. In Ghana, it is made by pounding boiled cassava and plantain or cocoyam in a wooden mortar, then served with liquid soups such as light soup, palm nut soup, or peanut butter soup. In Nigeria, fufu (akpu) is made solely from fermented cassava, giving it unique thickness, and is eaten with egusi soup or ogbono soup. In the Caribbean, variations include Haitian tonmtonm, Dominican mangú, and Puerto Rican mofongo, each adapting local ingredients like breadfruit or plantains. The dish has evolved with modern conveniences such as the fufu machine, and in urban areas or the diaspora, flours like wheat semolina or maize may replace cassava. Despite these changes, rural families with access to farmland often maintain the original cassava-based recipe.
Did You Know?
- Fufu is a Twi word originating from the Akans in Ghana and literally means 'white' in Twi.
- In Nigeria, fufu (akpu) is made solely from fermented cassava, requiring several days to prepare.
- In Haiti, fufu is called tonmtonm and is mostly made from breadfruit, served with an okra-based stew.
- Puerto Rican mofongo is made from fried green plantains mashed with garlic, salt, black pepper, and olive oil.
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