Making fufu is hard work and a bit of a performance. A large wooden mortar (a deep bowl) and a heavy pestle (a long stick) are used to pound the cooked cassava. Someone has to turn and fold the dough between each pound so it does not stick. In many Togolese households, pounding fufu is done by two people working in a rhythm — one turning, one pounding — and the thudding sound can be heard from several houses away.
Sauce arachide begins with roasted peanuts ground into a smooth paste — like making peanut butter from scratch. The paste is cooked in a pot with tomatoes, onions, a little chilli, and sometimes chicken, fish, or leafy vegetables. As it simmers, the kitchen fills with a deep, nutty, golden smell. The final sauce is thick and velvety.
To eat fufu, you tear off a small piece with your fingers, press your thumb in to make a little cup shape, and scoop up some sauce. No spoon needed — your hand is the spoon. Fufu is eaten warm, and the moment you dip it into the sauce, the peanut richness soaks right in. It is filling, nutritious, and deeply comforting.