Bammy
Grated cassava, pressed to remove the juice, then cooked into a compact flatbread. Dry, it keeps for days; soaked in coconut milk and grilled, it accompanies fish. The bread of resourcefulness and travel.
Grated cassava, pressed to remove the juice, then cooked into a compact flatbread. Dry, it keeps for days; soaked in coconut milk and grilled, it accompanies fish. The bread of resourcefulness and travel.
Here is the bread of our land, the one already made by those who trod the island long before the ships. We grate the root, press out all the juice, and the tightly formed flatbread keeps and travels without spoiling. I who have traveled so many ports and roads know the value of a provision that does not betray the traveler. Cassava, my friends, teaches us a truth: what comes from our own soil sustains us where the bread of the stranger fails.
- •Fresh cassava — several roots (base, starch)
- •Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
- •Coconut milk — for soaking (softness when serving)
Bammy
Grated cassava, pressed to remove the juice, then cooked into a compact flatbread. Dry, it keeps for days; soaked in coconut milk and grilled, it accompanies fish. The bread of resourcefulness and travel.
Why this dish? Bammy, a pressed cassava flatbread inherited from the island's first Taino inhabitants, keeps and travels well: bread of the fields, markets, and long roads. Garvey, a man of incessant travel — from Kingston to London, from Harlem to Atlanta prison — knew these sturdy provisions that traveled better than fresh bread.
Here is the bread of our land, the one already made by those who trod the island long before the ships. We grate the root, press out all the juice, and the tightly formed flatbread keeps and travels without spoiling. I who have traveled so many ports and roads know the value of a provision that does not betray the traveler. Cassava, my friends, teaches us a truth: what comes from our own soil sustains us where the bread of the stranger fails.
Ingredients (period version)
- Fresh cassava — several roots (base, starch)
- Salt — a pinch (seasoning)
- Coconut milk — for soaking (softness when serving)
Ingredients
- Fresh cassava (or cassava flour) — 1 kg root (base)
- Salt — 1 tsp (seasoning)
- Coconut milk — 150 ml (soaking before grilling)
- Butter or oil — a little (grilling)
Method
- Peel and finely grate raw cassava.
- Wrap pulp in a clean cloth and press firmly to extract as much juice as possible (discard juice), keep dry and crumbly pulp.
- Add salt, firmly press pulp into a hot pan to form a compact round flatbread.
- Cook over medium heat until set, flip and brown the other side.
- To serve: briefly soak the flatbread in coconut milk then grill in a pan with a little butter.
How it was made : The pressed juice of bitter cassava contains toxic compounds; extracting this liquid, a Taino skill passed to Creole populations, makes the root edible. The dry flatbread kept for several days without refrigeration — ideal provision for markets and travel.
The contemporary twist : Served as small thick patties grilled in butter, to dip like breadsticks into a fish broth.
Marcus Garvey · Charactorium
