Wash cassava tubers thoroughly to remove all surface soil and grit

Peel cassava tubers and pat dry

Place a flat tray on a cloth on a bench. The cloth will stop the tray from sliding during the grating process.

Place your box grater on the tray and using your non-dominant hand, grab onto the top handle of the box grater and hold it tightly.

Hold the pieces peeled cassava with your dominant hand and carefully move it back and forth against the small, prickly side that has the rough raspy holes. As you grate, keep the grater pressed tightly against the tray.

Your grated cassava will look like a thick moist porridge.

Allow the frozen grated cassava to thaw and then remove it from its wrapping. It will look like a moist porridge

Wrap the grated cassava tightly in a thick cloth and place it under a very heavy object in order to extract as much moisture as possible.

Place a container under the makeshift  ‘press’ to collect the white milk that will ooze out. This process may last a few hours.  

Once you are happy that there is no more moisture to extract, remove the cassava from the cloth, fluff it and spread it thinly on a tray allow it to air-dry for a few hours. Your flour will not be totally dehydrated. Some moisture will not harm the recipe. 

You now have your cassava flour and are ready to start making your magari.

Preheat oven to 180°C

Place your cassava flour (partially-dried grated cassava) in a medium size bowl add the ground cloves, salt, cracked black pepper, cinnamon powder and nutmeg and mix in thoroughly.

Add your coconut milk and incorporate completely. Your mix will look like a thick porridge.

Line a medium size baking tin, approximately 30 cm long, 11 cm wide and 6 cm deep, with baking paper. The baking paper is a must because the magari has a tendency to stick to the baking tin.

Transfer the magari mix to the baking tin and bake for about 90 minutes.You can test if the magari is cooked by inserting a knife into it. If it comes out clean then it is ready to be removed from the oven.

The magari will be very soft when you remove it from the oven. It will also have an oily feel arising from the coconut milk. Allow it to cool for a few minutes and then lift it from mould and allow to cool completely. It will ‘harden’ up on cooling and the oily feel will disappear.

The magari is best enjoyed a few hours after cooking or the day after. As mentioned before, clove is a very dominant spice in the magari. It can be eaten as is or as an accompaniment for a curry.