Daube of Cassava Balls – Ladob Koudpwen Mayok

The Daube of Cassava Balls – Ladob Koudpwen Mayok– is made with grated cassava flavoured with vanilla and nutmeg, rolled into small balls, and cooked in coconut milk and sugar.

In Seychelles there are a few popular dishes made with grated cassava and these are galet, koudpwen, penpen, langouti, moukat and magari. In this post we will share our version of koudpwen. There is a bit of confusion in the Seychelles about the koudpwen. Some say that it is a small galet or cassava biscuit, while others, including ourselves, think that it is this dish described in this post. This recipe is our version based on our personal experiences.

Why Koudpwen?

Koudpwen in creole means a punch or fist (fr. coup de poing). I guess the name derives from the fact that, in order to make the small balls one  has to form them in the palm of one’s hand and the process requires cupping the hands like fists to form the balls! I am open to any suggestion here.

Cassava in Seychelles

The cassava( Manihot esculanta),a thick–skinned starchy root vegetable or tuber, was among the first items of food that the first 28 settlers brought with them when they arrived here in Seychelles  on August 27, 1770, aboard ‘Telemaque’ from Ile de France (Mauritius). They came with many kilos of cassava tubers for consumption and many cuttings for cultivation.

There are two distinct kinds of cassava found in Seychelles, the bitter or mayok anmer, and the sweet or mayok dou or lawet. Both contain Prussic acid (hydrocyanic acid), which can cause cyanide poisoning. The bitter cassava, contains much more of the acid than the sweet cassava. However, cooking the cassava destroys the acid making it safe to eat. This is why it is recommended that cassava tubers, as well as the leaves, are cooked before they can be eaten

The tubers are shaped like hands with fat fingers. The skin is rough, brown, and covered with a network of fine veins. The flesh is white, hard and brittle.

Purchasing Cassava

You can purchase sweet cassava year-round at Asian, Latin, or African markets, and can even be found these days in some larger grocery stores. You can purchase it fresh, frozen or grated. If you buy fresh whole tuber, ensure that it is firm with no blemishes, bruises, cuts and soft spots or other signs of decay. It’s okay if you find cassava with a cut end exposed — it’s done to give you a good view of the flesh, which should be pure white. Dark streaks running through it can indicate that it’s past its prime and the flavor might be compromised.

Storing Cassava

You can store fresh, whole cassava in a cool, dry place and cook it within 1-2 weeks of purchase. It will keep about a week longer if kept in a refrigerator. If you have peeled more than you require, you can place it in cold water in a refrigerator and it will last for around 4 days.

You can freeze fresh cassava. All you need to do is peel it, cut in small pieces and place it in a freezer bag. You may even choose to boil your cassava and place in a refrigerator and will last for about 4 days.

 

The Mauritian ‘Coup de Poing de Manioc’

There is also a dish in Mauritius called ‘Coup de Poing de Manioc’ but it is a totally different dish to that prepared in Seychelles. Sometimes I wander how a dish of the same name can be so different. I believe that the Seychellois one is true to its origin.

The ‘Coup de Poing’ in Mauritius is a bit more sophisticated. It still has cassava flour as its main ingredient but has other ingredients like butter, egg yolks, yeast and rum and flavoured with cloves. They are baked and made in the shape of small biscuits.

The Bononoka from Madagascar

I have found out that the Seychellois koudpwen is closely related to the ‘bononoka’ made in the South-East Madagascar, except that they also add ripe bananas as an ingredient. (Please note that the ‘bononoka’ made in south Madagascar is a very different cassava dish to that made in South-East Madagascar). We may have inherited and adapted our koudpwen from our Malagasy ancestors who came to the Seychelles as slaves.

I have copied an extract from the book ‘ Utilisation du Manioc dans Differents Contextes’ that explains in French how it is done.

“Dans le sud-est de Madagascar, le bononoka est préparé différemment. Le manioc frais est épluché, puis découpé transversalement en fines rondelles. Celles ci sont séchées au soleil pendant deux ou trois jours suivant le degré d’ensoleillement. Le séchage au soleil entraîne une diminution importante du taux d’acide cyanhydrique contenu dans le manioc. Le produit ainsi obtenu est le soanta.
On le pile ensuite au mortier pour le transformer en farine. Cette farine est pilée une deuxième fois avec des bananes très mûres ou de l’eau sucrée, jusqu’à obtention d’une pâte, à partir de laquelle on confectionne à la main des boules de la grosseur du poing, comportant un trou au milieu pour améliorer la diffusion de la chaleur.

Les boules sont ensuite déposées avec grand soin dans une marmite au fond de laquelle on a placé de petites branches d’arbre ou de bambou. Puis on verse la quantité d’eau nécessaire sans recouvrir les boules. Le Bonomka est généralement consommé le matin au petit déjeuner ; mais la cuisson se fait le soir après le dîner, avant le coucher…”

What is ladob?

Ladob could have derived from the French word ‘daube’ which is a classic Provençal stew made with inexpensive beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbs and traditionally cooked in a daubière, a braising pan. Or, could it also have derived from the Malagasy word dauba-dauba?

In Seychelles this method of cookery has a different meaning when it applies to fish and meat to when it applies to desserts. The meat daube- ladob laviann-or fish daube- ladob pwason- are like a stew to which fried potatoes and at times small green peas have been added. .

The ladob in a dessert context is a dish that has been cooked over moderate heat with coconut milk, nutmeg, vanilla and sugar. When the dish is cooked the coconut milk turns into a creamy consistency.

The process of making the Daube of Cassava balls – Ladob Koudpwen Mayok

There are four distinct steps in the making the daube of cassava balls . These include: The peeling; the grating; the preparing of the koudpwen and the cooking of the daube. Let us look at the different steps.

Peeling the Fresh Cassava

Before fresh cassava can be eaten, the outer bark-like peel must be removed. This is because this is where most of the hydrocyanic acid is located. While it may look like an intimidating root vegetable to peel, it is really quite easy once you get the hang of it.

Place cassava on a cutting board and cut off only the two ends.  Remove the peel, either with a vegetable peeler or small knife. Slice through the peel of each piece vertically – from top to bottom. Gently wedge the knife under the peel so that it lifts up and can be removed in large pieces. Be sure to remove all the brown peel, as well as the thin white layer just beneath it. I use a knife to remove the thick brown peel and then go over it with a vegetable peeler to remove any remnants. Once peeled, cut away any brown streaks, as these parts are no longer fresh. Throw away the cassava if it is riddled with streaks.

Grating the Cassava

Once the cassava is peeled it is then grated. The easiest way to grate the cassava is to use a box grater. The best side of the box grater to use is the small, prickly side that has the rough raspy holes.

Place a flat tray on a cloth on a bench. The cloth will stop the tray from sliding during the grating process. Place your box grater on the tray and using your non-dominant hand. Grab onto the top handle of the box grater and hold it tightly. Hold the pieces of peeled cassava with your dominant hand and carefully move it back and forth against the holes or grating slots of the grater. As you grate, keep the grater pressed tightly against the tray. Remember to remove the fibrous strings at the core of the cassava.

Alternatively, cut cassava into small cubes and process finely in a food processor.

Alternative to Fresh Cassava

If you have no access to fresh cassava or cannot be bothered to go through the grating process, you can save yourself all the hard work by  purchasing frozen grated cassava. It is readily available in most Asian shops and is as good as the fresh ones.

Whether you grate your own cassava and buy frozen cassava you will find that  the grated cassava has the consistency of very moist porridge. For some other dishes you are required to dewater the grated cassava.  However, for this recipe, you do not have to dewater the grated cassava before you start to cook it. The moisture is needed to assist in keeping the balls together. Please note however that some frozen grated cassava may have water added to it and that you may have to squeeze some of it out or your balls will be too soft and will not hold their shape.

Preparing the Cassava Balls

Place the grated cassava in a bowl and add the sugar, nutmeg and vanilla essence, and mix thoroughly.

Scoop enough of the grated of cassava into the palm of your hand and mould it into a small ball the size of a golf ball. The ball has to be as loose as you can make it. This will allow the heat to travel to its interior. If you make it too tight it will take a long time to cook in the inside and the ball will become hard. When cooked it should have a gelatinous feel through the whole ball.

It is also critical that you do not ‘roll’ the ball in the palm of your hands as it will always break. This is because the ball is held together only by the moisture found in the grated cassava . Once you have successfully formed one ball, repeat the same procedure for the other balls.

The texture of the koudpwen

It is important to note that this recipe does not contain yeast or baking soda for leavening, so the cassava balls are very dense. They basically hold their shape and do not expand. When cooked they  should have a gelatinous texture. Koudpwen are usually not eaten as is, but always cooked in a daube because of its denseness. The coconut milk imparts moisture into, and consequently softens, the balls.

Cooking  the Daube of Cassava Balls – Ladob Koudpwen Mayok

Cut some baking paper and line the bottom of the pot that you are using. Traditionally, a piece of banana leaf was used for this purpose. The baking paper or banana leaf acts as a buffer between the hot pot and the cassava balls and hence minimising the possibility of the daube burning.

We recommended that you try to have only one layer of balls in the pot. Therefore, use a large flat bottom pot to cook the daube.

Gently place the koudpwen on the baking paper or banana leaf and add the coconut milk, sugar, nutmeg and vanilla. Transfer the pan on heat and cook the daube on low heat. The daube has to be cooked on very slow fire because the starch can easily burn if the heat is too aggressive. Partially cover the pot and avoid stirring. Instead, gently shake the pot occasionally.

After 10 minutes, use a skewer and poke once through all the balls. This will allow the heat to be transfered into the inside of the balls and facilitate thorough cooking.

Simmer for another 15-20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Remove the daube from the heat and allow it to rest. The daube will thicken when cooling because the starch in the cassava will keep on absorbing the milk

Lastly we recommend that you eat the daube warm. It will feel less dense. It is an ideal dessert after a spicy curry.

Here is your recipe for the Daube of Cassava Balls- Ladob Koudpwen Mayok

Did you make this recipe?

I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.

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