Telo met Bakkeljauw (Fried Cassava with Salted Cod)

One of the great things about tropical countries is that most of your time is spent outdoors, and that means there is a huge selection of street food on offer. Suriname is no different, and this following dish, Telo with Bakkeljauw, is one of the most popular street foods in Paramaribo. It reminds me in particular of the roadside snackbar at Paranam, by the aluminium smelter, right before you hit the Afobaka Highway and the entrance to the interior of Suriname. We used to make this trip regularly and would nearly always stop here for some Telo. Lovely!

I mentioned the other day about how versatile cassava is, and this is one of the many dishes that can be made from the humble root. It is of Javan origin, and is great as a midday snack!

An Ode to Cassava

Cassava or Manioc is one of the most versatile foods God graced us with. This humble root, native to South America, is a staple food in most of that continent, as well as much of the developing world and is actually the third largest source of carbohydrates in the world! 

The beauty of cassava is that it is so versatile. Just look at the way it is used in Surinamese cuisine (one of my   favourite cuisines and one I will be returning to regularly). Here is a selection of dishes made from cassava:

• Telo - boiled then deep fried cassava blocks served with salted cod. A Surinamese version of fish and chips!
• Cassava Chips - thinly fried slices of cassava - like potato chips infused with garlic and salt
• Cassava bread - a large disc of crispy sun-dried bread made from cassava flour - unmissable with Pepre Watra!
• Kwak - toasted cassava flour - delicious with soups, or even just with water!
• Kasiri - cassava beer brewed by the Amerindian tribes. The fermentation process begins by chewing and the spitting out the cassava roots!

Those are just a few of the dishes that can be created using cassava, and all of them are delicious (well I can't vouch for the cassava beer, but the rest are for sure!)

Basically, anything you can make with potatoes can probably be made with cassava root instead! Not bad for something that is highly poisonous in its natural state!!!

DID YOU KNOW?

Bitter cassava can contain up to 1 gram of cyanide per kilogram. A dose of only 2.5 milligrams is enough to kill a rat! 

Enjoy!