Dairy Game: My Garri processing day 4| 6th May, 2024

Hi guys, how are you all doing. How did your day go. I believe it was fun. Asking of myself, my day was splendid. Moving into the business for today, my garri processing continues.

Morning Activity: Getting the garri from the mill / seiving it

Today, I woke up normal time for prayers at exactly 5:00am. I brushed my teeth and strolled of my room for prayers. I chose yo anchor the devotional today cause I was just in the mood for it and apart from that, I wanted it to end early. But my mom always have a way of elongating our stay in morning devotions by telling different kinds of stories both the ones related and the non related ones to the topic or subject matter of the devotional.

So I was sure I didn't want to start working without eating anything to keep me going for the day's work. So I went to the kitchen to find what I can take only to realize that food was ready. I didn't hesitate to get my portion and started munching with immediate effect. After eating to my satisfaction, I got ready and went with my dad to get the garri from the mill and started seiving as soon as we reached the house.

Items needed during this process includes, sieve ( known in Ibibio language as úkêñ or úkeng); like the one in the photo, a big container ( òkpó; like the one in the photo also, then something to sit on mkpö ítìë). You simply put a reasonable amount of the strained cassava into the sieve, break it into small chumps and start to sieve till it's just shaft ( mkpãtá) that is left in the sieve. The shaft is not needed or some people might one to reuse the shaft for something else but that is not our main concern here.

Having done that, put away the shaft from the sieve and put another cassava into the sieve and repeat the process for the remaining cassava. This is in preparation for the frying which is the next step.

In this process, items required includes; garri frying pot (known in Ibibio language as esio garri), wooden garri turner( mkpö ùsáñ garri), firewoods ( ìfía), the a tripod stand ( mfíók) or set it up with cement blocks and a container to put the garri after frying it.

Set up the fire place and position you frying pot on top of the prepared fire place and let it start getting hot. Put a reasonable amount of cassava into the frying pot and carefully turn it to circulate the heat all over the garri inside the pot. Keep turning the garri inside till it gradually become really dry, crispy and crunchy. When you feel it's dry enough, use the wooden garri turner and carefully scoop the garri out of the frying pot till it's empty and put another sieved cassava inside the pot and repeat the process till it finishes. After sometime, I tasted the garri with my other garri accompaniments like sugar, groundnuts, garri, chocolate and milk and so and the garri was good.

This is one of my favorites uhhhhm.. should I say desert or snacks. Either ways, I rarely go a day without it and it serves me well. At this point, we're done with the frying. The next thinks is to let if cool off first.

Evening Activity: Cassava has fully converted to garri

After this process, spread a wide bag or something you can use to pour the garri on, pour the garri on that surface and spread it well so that the garri starts to cool down and leave it there till the next day. You do this to avoid the hot garri from moulding into lumps. Thereafter, put the garri in either a 50kg or 100kg bag depending on the quantity you have got at the end of the day.

I was starving myself at this point so I needed to eat. After this stress, I ate garri and atama soup. We made the garri we just fried and it was ten out ten. I kukumaly went to shower, I climbed my bed and slept off