This is a Nigerian twist on a traditional Ivorian recipe that has, surprisingly become the national dish of Côte d’Ivoire… or at least the national street food. Attieke de Poisson (Attieke with fried fish) is really Côte d’Ivoire’s true national dish. But, when Nigerians arrived in Côte d’Ivorie during the 1960s (after independence) they substituted tuna for the local fish, dusting the tuna with flour before frying. So Garba is Attiéké served with deep-fried tuna and a fresh salad. Attiéké is grated cassava that’s fermented in water for a few days before being sun-dried to a couscous-like consistency. In traditional garba there is no tomato; however as everyone tends to ask for tomato in the street food version I’ve included it here
Prep time: 20 minutes/Cook time: 15 minutes/Serves: 2
Ingredients:
250g fermented cassava semolina (attieke)
200g tuna fillet
1 large tomato, washed and finely chopped
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 green chilli (traditionally habanero, but substitute a finer chilli if you want it milder), finely chopped
3 tbsp of flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 Maggi cube, powdered
oil for frying
Method:
Add the tomato, onions and chilli together in a bowl. Season with a little salt, then set aside.
If using dry attiéké moisten with 50ml (1/5 cup) water and set aside for 10 minutes to absorb.
Heat water in the pot of a couscousier. Line the couscousier (or a colander) with cloth and crumble in the attiéké. Place over your pot of boiling water, cover with a lid and steam for 10 minutes, until tender.
Place the flour on a plate and season with the salt. Heat oil in a deep fryer. Cut your tuna into slices about 10cm x 3cm (4 x 1 in).
Once the oil is hot, dredge the tuna pieces in the flour, making sure it’s nicely coated. Dust off the excess then drop into the oil. Fry the fish for about 5 minutes per side, until golden brown and just cooked through.
Drain the fish on kitchen paper and serve with the hot cassava couscous (attiéké) and the salad. For more flavour, garnish by sprinkling over the crumbled maggi cube. This is food to be eaten with your fingers.
