Eba — Benin

Eba, also known as red eba or piron in Yoruba, is a smooth, stretchy swallow made from garri, coarse cassava flour that is stirred into boiling water until it forms a stiff, elastic dough. It belongs to the wider family of West African fufu-style swallows, eaten by hand rather than with cutlery, and used mainly as a vehicle for scooping up soups and stews. It is reported from Benin, where it is regarded as a classic of local cuisine and prepared alongside a range of soups and stews. The same dish, under the same name, is also found in Togo and Nigeria, each with its own page here, since eba is cooked and eaten across this stretch of West Africa without any one country's version being singled out. To prepare it, garri is added gradually to boiling water and worked with a wooden turning stick or spoon, first to form a stiff base and then, with the remaining garri folded in, into a smooth, lump-free paste. The paste is kneaded against the side of the pot until it turns glossy and elastic, then shaped into a mound or individual balls, ready to be pinched off and dipped into soup. What varies between versions is mostly the soup or stew it accompanies and the color of the garri used, white or toasted yellow, rather than the swallow itself, since the technique of stirring and kneading stays close from one kitchen to the next. In Benin it is paired with soups typical of the local cuisine, in the same way it is paired with different ones in Togo and Nigeria.