Bammy

Name: Bammy
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Jamaica
Ingredients: 1 kg fresh cassava; 1½ tsp salt; 300 ml coconut milk; 3 tbsp coconut oil

A pressed cassava flatbread soaked in coconut milk and browned in a pan, Jamaica's Taíno inheritance.

Published on 17 August 2026·Updated on 10 September 2026

VeganGluten-free#cassava#coconut#flatbread#taino#skillet

AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 60 min
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Method

Peel the cassava and grate it on the fine side of a grater, discarding the central fibre.
Gather the shreds in a cloth and twist it over the sink. Press until no more juice runs out.
Crumble the pressed pulp between your fingers and mix in the salt. It should look like damp sand.
Heat a dry pan over medium heat. Pack a quarter of the pulp into a disc 1 cm thick.
Cook for 6 minutes, press with a spatula to knit it together, then turn and cook 6 minutes more.
Lift the cakes out and soak them for 5 minutes in the salted coconut milk.
Heat the coconut oil in the pan and brown each cake for 3 minutes per side.

Bitter cassava juice carries a cyanogenic compound, which is why the pulp gets pressed. The Taíno worked out this method long before Europeans reached the Caribbean.

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Nutrition per serving

Calories: 637 kcal
Protein: 4.9 g
Fat: 26.6 g
Carbohydrate: 97.2 g
Fibre: 4.5 g

An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.

Frequently asked questions

Can cassava flour replace fresh cassava?

No, the cake depends entirely on the moist pulp you get by grating and then pressing, which binds under heat. Dry flour will not rebuild that bond. Frozen cassava chunks do work, though: thaw them, then grate and press exactly as you would fresh.

How hard should the grated cassava be pressed?

Until not another drop comes out of the cloth, even when you twist hard. Beyond the question of the juice itself, damp pulp will not compact: the cake sticks to the pan and breaks when you turn it. Pressed properly it should feel like wet sand that clumps when squeezed.

Why soak the cake in coconut milk after the first cooking?

Cooked dry, the cake is deliberately dense and dry. The coconut milk bath rehydrates it right through and flavours it before the final browning. Do not go past five minutes, or it takes on too much liquid and falls apart in the pan.