Plate of Cassava Dumplings
(click to enlarge)

Dumplings - Cassava


Trinidad / Caribbean   -   Spinners, Cow Tongues, etc.
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 1-3/4 #
**
1-1/4 hrs
Prep		 Boiled dumplings are very popular all through the Caribbean region, especially Cassava Dumplings. They are used in soups, over stews, and as a side dish.




14
1
1/2
1/2
ar
oz
c
T
t

Cassava grated (1)  
Flour all-purp
Salt
Baking Powder
Water
Make   -   (1-1/4 hrs)
  1. peel CASSAVA (a strong "Y" peeler is best) and grate it. See Grating below for details.
  2. Place Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder in a mixing bowl and whip it to make it even. Work in the Cassava.
  3. The Cassava has some water in it so the amount of additional water you need is uncertain. Add in Tablespoon amounts. Work until you have an even but fairly firm dough. Lightly oiling your hands can help here. Knead for about 4 minutes.
  4. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes covered with plastic wrap.
  5. Form Dumplings of the shape and size you want. All the shapes below are typical of Trinidad, Tobago, Jamaica, and the rest of the Caribbean.
    • Spinners are formed by rolling a small ball of dough between the palms of your hands. They should be about 2-1/4 inches long and pointed at both ends. Roll them longer and thinner than you want, because they will pull back some when set out on the board.
    • Cow Tongues (Trinidad) are formed by rolling out an oval of dough on a lightly floured board. They should be rolled out about 1/8 inch thick. Again, they will pull back when laid out, getting shorter and thicker, so roll longer than you want. They can be considerably longer and narrower than those in the photo.
    • Soup Dumplings (Trinidad) are rolled out as a cylinder about 1 inch in diameter, then sliced crosswise about 1/2 inch thick. They may then be rolled into balls if you wish.
    • Disks are made by pressing a ball of dough flat between you palms. It should be less than 1/2 inch thick, a fair amount less because they will pull back some when set out. Use your thumb to make the center thinner than the edges. They should be about 2-1/2 inches diameter.
  6. Spinners and Soup Dumplings can be boiled in the soup, or boiled separately. They will need about 12 minutes, which should be at least a minute beyond the time they float to the surface. Cow Tongues and disks are boiled separately, and timing will depend on thickness, again, at least a minutes after they float to the top.
NOTES:

  1. Cassava:

      [Yuca, Manioc]   Be careful buying your Cassava. It is very perishable, so buy from a market with high turnover. It should be completely hard with no soft spots or discoloration. If it is over-aged it will have black streaks through it. You could use Frozen Cassava if you can't get fresh, with a little loss of flavor. Some use Cassava Flour, but that will have less flavor. For details see our Cassava / Manioc / Yuca page.

  2. Grating:

      Many recommend to use the punch hole side of a box grater. This is slow and takes a lot of muscle power. Also, it's very difficult to remove the hard core at (near) the center. I slice the cassava about 3/4 inch thick, then cut each slice into quarters, making sure the fibrous core is at the tip of one quarter where it can be easily cut off. Then I run it in a Mixie (a Food Processor will also work) with 3 Tablespoons of water. This is fine because you have to add water to the dough anyway.
  3. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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