Bammy Recipe is still alive among many Jamaican islanders. Nowadays hardly anyone hears about Bammy, but it is still around in Jamaica and the United States. Find Bammy in most West Indian grocery stores and is popular in Jamaican restaurant menus. It is personal to me, therefore I find ways to keep Bammy Recipe alive in my life today. It has an interesting story. A story that dates back in my early years growing up in St Elizabeth, Jamaica.
Yes, I can clearly remember in my early years, we would prepare a big batch to serve the whole week. It takes time and effort to get a big batch done, but it has to be done. That was our nutrition for all meals morning, midday, and evening along with whatever entre available, with or without.
History of Bammy Recipe:
Before going further into how to prepare it, take some time to listen to a little of the history behind this dish, and the reason why it is not so popular. Bammy comes from cassava, preferably bitter cassava. Although one can use the sweet cassava as well. One will find the biggest harvest of cassava in the parish of St Elizabeth and that is where Bammy originated and that the St Elizabethians are experts in producing the best Bammies. So if Bammy is not from St Elizabeth it is of inferior quality.
Why is that so Important?
Cassava is a staple food item. And, grown locally by almost every known farmer for his immediate family use and for export. It is a farmer’s daily bread and also one of his income streams to be able to provide for his family. Cassava was a popular market item and readily available for everyone to make Bammies to shut the door on hunger. It was the go-to dish for some, for all daily meals. Because it was easy to make huge batches at one time and store them for days to come.
Here are the Simple Ingredients and Steps:
- Cassava bitter or sweet. The amount varies according to family size and how long you intend for the batch to last.
- Grate the cassava
- Salt (according to the amount of grated cassava)
- Peel and grate the cassava
- Press or squeeze the grated cassava to remove as much of the starch as possible. Best to use a Cassava press as all the starch from the bitter cassava can be deadly. Make sure to get rid of that starch from the bitter cassava. The sweet cassava is ok, as normally, the sweet cassava is the one we can just cook and eat.
- Discard that starch juice
- Add salt to that dried cassava flour
- Take a cup of the grated cassava flour into a greased heavy frying pan. This determines the size of the bammy.
- Press down with the paddle
- Use moderate heat
- When the edges start shrinking from the sides of the pan after 10 minutes, flatten and turn on the other side keep flattening and pressing down.
- Keep repeating the process until the cassava is used up
- Can used immediately or refrigerated for up to 14 days or kept frozen for as long as
When ready to use do this Bammy Recipe for Refrigerated or Frozen:
Soak bammies in water or milk (any kind of milk), coconut milk is the best for about 10-15 minutes. Bammy is a round, flat bread made from cassava. As the size varies from wafer to one inch thick, you have to allow enough time to soften and moisturize the bammy for oven, frying, or grill. Fry or grill until lightly brown. Ready to eat. Bammy is best with Ackee and codfish, with callaloo and cod fish, fried fish, escoveitched fish, and avocado as an accompaniment or for that matter good with any of your favorite dish selections.
Response Magic