Egg ball in plate with mango sour in the middle

Egg Ball is a pretty popular snack in Guyana.  I remember after school buying an egg ball at a roadside vendor.  It was a cheap snack that was quite filling.  Egg ball is typically eaten for breakfast as well and served with a spicy mango sour or chutney.  Hard boiled eggs are wrapped in a seasoned cassava which is also known as yucca.  To serve it is typically cut in half to reveal the perfectly cooked egg.   This is similar to scotch eggs which is hard boiled eggs wrapped in sausage meat. 

If you’ve never had cassava, it’s a starchy root vegetable that’s similar to potatoes.  It’s a fairly common ingredient in Guyana and the Caribbean and Africa.  It can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes such as Boil and Fried Cassava, Metemgee or Cassava Fries with Garlic Mayo. It’s also used in desserts such as Cassava Pone. If you’re not a lover of eggs you can omit the hard boiled eggs and just fry the cassava balls, this is known as cassava puff.

Egg ball in plate with mango sour in the middle

Get the Recipe Guyanese Egg Balls

Ingredients
 

  • 2 lbs cassava or yucca
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 2 tsp crushed garlic
  • 3 scallion finely chopped
  • 1 wiri wiri pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 cup flour
  • vegetable oil to fry

Instructions
 

  • Peel and boil cassava in salted water for about 25 to 30 mins until cassava is fork tender, drain.  Remove fibrous string that runs down the middle of the cassava.
  • Place 6 eggs in a pot with cool water and bring to a boil.  Cook for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and strain.  Add cool water to the eggs and let it sit for 10 minutes before peeling.
  • Mash cassava until smooth, take out the lumpy bits that cannot be mashed.  Add butter, garlic, scallion, wiri wiri pepper and salt to cassava and mix to combine.
  • Oil hands with vegetable oil so that the mixture doesn’t stick to your palms.  Diving the cassava in six equal pieces.
  • In a bowl mix 2 eggs with water and set aside. Place about 1 cup of flour in a shallow bowl or plate.
  • Place the cassava in you palm and spread then place an egg in the center.  Cover the eggs with the cassava to form a ball.  The egg should be completely covered by the cassava mixture. Coat the egg ball in the egg wash then flour. Shake off excess flour.  
  • In pan over medium high heat, add 2 inches of vegetable oil,
  • When oil is hot, add egg ball and fry until golden brown on all sides. Serve these with mango chutney or mango achaar.
Author: Jehan Powell