Taro with yellow sauce or achu is a Cameroonian dish from the North-West region and mainly consumed by the people of the West and NOSO of Cameroon. Very often considered as "food of the notables" because often prepared to receive respected people, taro is accompanied most of the time by pistachio dishes and generally by many other "obstacles" which are meats, fish and even vegetables. Among the Bamilékés and the peoples of NOSO, there are almost no traditional ceremonies without taro and above all it is eaten with the fingers. Do not wonder why we should not eat it with a fork or any other cutlery, it is tradition! Taro with yellow sauce is a dish that requires physical strength and of course tips to succeed in the rules of the art. In this article, we used as obstacles, beef flesh and skin, pistachio dishes, eggplant and fried chicken but you can use any other meat, fish or vegetables of your choice. You will also find at the end of the article the technique for preserving and reheating this dish.
INGREDIENTS
- 1 kg of taro tubers
- ¼ liter of palm oil
- 500 g beef (red meat, skin)
- 2 tablespoons ground taro spice mix
- 4 Eggplants (Optional)
- 16 g Rock salt
- Salt
- 5 peppers
- Chicken marinade
- Seasoning cube
Total time
Preparation: 2h Rest: – Cooking: 2h
INSTRUCTIONS
1
To begin, cook the meats in a casserole for 40 minutes or in a saucepan for about 1h30min with chili and salt. Also season the chicken and cook in another saucepan. If you choose to use beef tripe, wash them properly with lemon and hot water and cook in another saucepan with water, salt and chili ⇒ It should be noted that the meats in the yellow sauce should not be cooked with too much water because the meat broth will not be used for the rest of the cooking. So cook the meats without adding too much water to preserve their flavor as much as possible.
2
Drain the meats, fry the chicken in a deep fryer and set aside.
Taro
1
Clean the taro tubers with a knife without peeling them, wash them properly and put them in a saucepan, add water to cover and cook for 2 hours.
2
When the tubers are cooked, remove the skins and crush in a mortar with a pestle until you obtain a smooth, lump-free puree. To avoid lumps as much as possible, peel and crush the tubers while hot, without removing from the heat, in 3 or 4 times, remove at each turn then mix everything at the end and crush again. This is where physical strength comes into play because it is not an easy step. If you do not have a mortar, peel the tubers while still hot and put in a saucepan or large salad bowl and crush with a potato masher
3
If the taro is too tender, you can add a little water, mix and set aside
The sauce
While the taro is cooking, make the yellow sauce. Yellow sauce is a rather delicate sauce to make, which is why you must follow the dosages and instructions.
1
You must moisten the ground spices with salt and the seasoning cube in a salad bowl 30min before preparation. Then heat the rock salt in a saucepan to dissolve it then filter with a strainer to avoid sand then let the liquid cool;
2
Now heat the oil in a saucepan for 1 minute maximum to liquefy as much as possible and leave to cool to room temperature
3
Then add water (1l to 2l depending on the quantity of sauce you want) and stir with a bowl for 3 min;
4
Oil and water being immiscible liquids, it is necessary to make an emulsion with the rock salt to have a homogeneous mixture. Add the rock salt liquid gradually while stirring until obtaining a homogeneous mixture and a yellow color. Grandma's little tip to know if the rock salt is enough, to note that the sauce begins to become foamy during stirring and must have a little acidity to the taste.
5
Add the previously soaked spices and continue stirring until the sauce is homogeneous The yellow sauce is ready You can add the meats and smoked fish to the sauce or arrange them in the dish when serving; Serve the taro in a dish then arrange the meats, eggplants, pepper, and a piece of pistachio and a red wine or a cold beer. Enjoy your meal! How to store your taro sauce sauce? So, I'll tell you everything You should know that in Cameroon, people from certain regions do not allow this dish to be stored because, they say, it will no longer be as good after reheating it. However, it all depends on how you store it. To store your taro yellow sauce, put the taro and the sauce separately in bowls and close hermetically so that air cannot enter and place in the refrigerator (3 days maximum) or in the freezer (1 month maximum). To reheat, put the taro in a saucepan and add a little water then let it heat over low heat for 15 minutes. For the yellow sauce, heat water in a saucepan and put the bowl of sauce in and let it cool. Note that if you store it in the freezer, take it out one or two hours before, let it defrost before reheating.
