In West Africa, garri is the creamy granular flour obtained by processing the starchy tuberous roots of freshly harvested cassava.To make garri flour, cassava tubers are peeled, washed and grated or crushed to produce a mash. The mash can be mixed with palm oil and placed in a porous bag, which is then placed in an adjustable press machine for 1–3 hours to remove excess water. Once dried it is then sieved and fried in a large clay frying pot with or without palm oil. The resulting dry granular garri can be stored for long periods. It may be pounded or ground to make a fine flour.Garri comes in various consistencies, which can roughly be categorized into rough, medium and smooth. Each type is used for a particular food.As a snack, cereal, or light meal, garri can be soaked in cold water (in which case it settles to the bottom), mixed with sugar or honey, and sometimes roasted peanuts or groundnut with or evaporated milk are sometimes added. The amount of water needed for soaked garri is 3:1. Garri can also be eaten dry without water, but with sugar and roasted peanut added.In West Africa, the two types are white and yellow. Yellow garri is prepared by adding palm oil just before the fermenting stage of the cassava mash. Alternatively, it can be made using the yellow-fleshed breed of cassava. White garri on the other hand is fried without addition of palm oil. Some of the health benefits of garri are: garri helps to improve immune system, garri aids in digestion, garri promotes eye health, garri cools and energies the body, garri prevent cancer, garri reduces aged-related illness, garri is gluten free, among others. Garri have many nutritional contents. The minerals and vitamins contained in garri and other cassava derivatives like flour, Abacha, etc., are not limited to iron, manganese, calcium, sodium, magnesium, thiamine, copper, ascorbic acid, zinc, vitamin A and potassium. It also contains dietary fiber, protein, lipids, and more. It is also very important to know that Garri is high in calories, which causes the body to store excess carbohydrate. Consistent use of this food will result in undesirable weight gain, which, if not managed properly, can lead to obesity.
