Manioc (Cassava) in Brazilian Cuisine

Thu, Nov 22nd 2007, 00:00

Manioc forms the main component of Native Indian food.


The Amazon basin is home to Tupi Indians, relatives of the same tribe of Indians who met the first Portuguese arrivals on the northeast coast of Brazil. Their diet of manioc, corn, beans, yams, peanuts, peppers, wild fruits and fresh fish is still very much in evidence in Brazil today.

When the settlers arrived in the 16th Century, they had to learn from the locals how to survive in such a hostile environment. Corn and manioc were the staple crops as they can stand tough climates and have a short growing cycle. However, manioc must not be eaten raw – it has toxic concentrations of cyanogenic glucosides which need to be destroyed in a process using heat.

The dish vaca atolada (mud-stranded cow) is a meat and manioc cassava stew, cooked into a paste.

Pirao is a thick gravy-like gruel prepared by cooking fish bits (such as heads and bones) with cassava flour (farinha). With farofa the flour is combined with rice and beans to make the basic meal of average Brazilians. It is also a standard side dish for Brazil's national dish, feijoada. The bitter juice is boiled to the consistency of thick syrup and flavoured with spices, called cassareep.

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