Fufu (or Foutou)

Fufu is a mash of yams or other starches that is served in West Africa as an accompaniment to meat or vegetable stews. To eat fufu, pull a small ball of mush off with your fingers, form an indentation with your thumb and use it to scoop up stews and other dishes. Or place large balls in individual serving bowls and spoon the stew around them. If you have ever seen pictures of African women pounding a large mortar and pestle in a steady rhythm, they are probably making fufu. This starchy side dish goes by many names: fufu, fofo, foufou, foutou. In French-speaking countries it is sometimes called cous-cous. The East and Southern African counterpart is ugali. Fufu has also found its way into Caribbean creole cuisine and was certainly brought there by imported slaves. Caribbean versions are most often made with plantains or cornmeal and is known as foo-foo, or foofoo. On Barbados it is known as coocoo.