Eru/Okok/Okazi and Garri
The Manyu Division is a local government administrative area located in the Southwest Region of Cameroon. Manyu Division has an agricultural terrain made up of the Takamanda, Mone River, Nta Ali, and the Ejangham forest reserves that are known to produce an abundance of Eru. Manyu Division also shares boundaries with the Cross Rivers State of Nigeria with a similar agricultural terrain that produces Eru where it is locally called in Nigeria as Afang or Okazi leaves. Eru is a green leafy plant used in cooking one of the prominent traditional vegetable soups of the Manyu people. Eru is commonly eaten with cassava fufu (locally called water fufu); although it is a native dish to the Manyu people, water fufu and Eru is also one of Cameroon’s signature dishes. It is a finger-licking dish at the center of the table in a Cameroonian party and it is sometimes the first to finish on the table in a party. In many restaurants and homes in Cameroon, whenever Fufu and Eru is on the menu for the day, everyone happily awaits the moment when the food is served to feast on it. I remember my childhood days feasting on this dish at home and in Mama Helen’s restaurant in Limbe, my hometown in Cameroon. As it’s customary for an African girl child to learn how to cook, I got my hands on cooking Eru by assisting my aunties and other mothers in the neighborhood when they cooked Eru for parties and during festive seasons. I love to cook Eru when I have guests and for family gatherings so I don't feel guilty eating it alone. Eru has a fresh leafy green taste that blends well with palm oil and the spiciness of habanero peppers. The combination of fufu and Eru has the perfect balance from the smooth texture of fufu (for this recipe, I substituted water fufu with garri) to the crunchiness of the proteins (meat, cowskin and tripe) in the moist and juicy Eru soup.
This recipe is very special to me because for the first time on my blog, I am using the Eru from my line of products which I recently released into the market under my food distributing company Keng’s International Foods LLC. Keng's International Foods LLC brands itself to be a leading African food distributing company working towards conserving and preserving Cameroonian/African cuisines across generations. We can affirm that food is an element of one's culture and one's culture is an element of their identity. Through our products, we aim to use authentic cuisines to give our customers the experience that will connect them to their home countries while being far away from the land of their birth and the land of their ancestors. Eru from Keng’s International Foods LLC is sourced from the forest terrains of Manyu Division and processed to give our customers the best satisfaction. It is my pleasure to cook along with you in your kitchen as you make Keng's International Foods LLC a household name.
Click play on the video below to cook along with me or scroll past the video to follow the written instructions.
Dish: Garri and ERU
Country: Cameroon
Ethic Group: Manyu, Southwest Region of Cameroon
Diaspora Connection: Manyu Elements Cultural and Development Association (MECA DC)
Ingredients for Eru
a. ½ Pound Beef
b. ½ Deboned Smoked Fish
c. ½ Cooked Tripe
d. ½ Cooked Cow Skin
e. 1 Cup Crayfish
f. 2 Cups Palm Oil
g. 2 Habanero Peppers
h. 4 oz of Eru
i. 2 Pounds of Fresh Spinach or Water Leaves
j. Salt and Bouillon
Ingredients for Gari
k. 2 Cups of Garri
Shop Eru and our other Cameroonian Cuisine products at AFRIK INTERNATIONAL FOODS located at:
6689 Old Landover Rd, Hyattsville, MD 20785
13623 Annapolis Rd, Bowie, MD 20720
Washington DC Farmers Market
411 Morse St NE, Washington, DC 20002
How to Cook Eru
1. Thoroughly wash the eru under running tap water. Use a strainer to strain the eru and squeeze firmly to drain excess water then set aside.
2. Cut the meat into bite size pieces and wash thoroughly under running tap water. Place the meat into a clean pot and add salt, bouillon, and enough water until it’s slightly above the level of the meat. Cook on medium heat until it's done.
3. Add the cooked tripe, fish, cow skin, and habanero pepper into the pot and allow to cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.
4. Add the spinach or water leaves into the pot and mix well.
Note: at this stage. Do not cover the pot as it will cause the spinach or water leaves to become over cooked and it will lose its green color.
5. Add the crayfish and adjust the salt and bouillon to your desired taste and mix well.
6. Add the eru into the pot and mix until it's fully incorporated. Allow to cook on medium heat while mixing intermittently.
Note: Eru does not need too much water. However, if you notice that the eru is getting dry add a cup of water to moisten the eru.
7. When you notice that the eru is beginning to get soft, add the palm oil to it and mix well. Then allow to cook on low heat until the palm oil is done.
Note: You can tell when the palm oil is done if it has melted into the pot, no longer taste like raw palm, and blends all the flavors of the pot together well.
8. Turn off the stove and set the pot aside.
How to Make Garri Using a Microwave
Pour the Garri into a microwavable bowl and add water until it is slightly above the level of the garri in the bowl then stir so that the water is fully incorporated into the garri.
Place the bowl into a microwave and microwave for 4 minutes. Remove the bowl and stir the garri so it cooks evenly. If the garri is too hard, add ¼ cup of water into the bowl. If the garri is too soft, add ¼ cup of uncooked garri into the bowl then mix well and microwave again for an additional 2 minutes.
Remove the bowl and stir the garri. Adjust the texture if needed and mix well then set aside for serving.
Serving the Garri and Eru
Mold the garri into a round, cone, or cylinder shape and transfer it onto a clean plate. Add the Eru to the side, wash your hands and enjoy with a favorite drink!
