Bammy

[2][3] They are made with cassava (also called yuca or manioc) indigenous to Mesoamerica, and was a staple crop of the Arawaks / Taínos, which they cultivated in conucos.

[5] They would then place the pulp in a large funnel-shaped basket called a matapi, which was hung from a tree for extraction of the juice.

[5] The Arawaks / Taínos passed on this tradition to the enslaved Africans, and some aspects of the original method of preparing bammy are still practised in parts of St Elizabeth and South East Manchester today.

[5] Once completely drained, but still a bit moist, the cassava is beaten in a mortar then sieved to a fine flour texture.

Traditionally, it is made by spreading a handful of the flour evenly in a baking ring, on a flat iron griddle on the open fire, or in a Dutch pot.

The baking process takes about 3 minutes, and the final product is a thin, foldable bread about 10" in diameter.

Baking takes longer due to the thickness, and the final product is then cut into halves or wedges for freezing.

When ready to eat, the wedges are soaked in coconut milk and then fried until golden brown or steamed,[8] and served with meat, fish, seafood, avocado, or other side dishes.

Taíno (Arawak) women preparing casabe (cassava bread) in 1565— grinding cassava/yuca roots into paste with a metate and mano , shaping the bread, and cooking it on a fire-heated burén .
Casabe (cassava bread) preparation in 1791— with stone mortar and pestles , wooden frame guayo , matapi on a tree and burén .
Fried bammy in Jamaica
Typical bammies produced and sold in Jamaica.
Seafood meal in Jamaica— garlic lobster with mashed sweet potato , stir-fry vegetables, fried bammy and fried ripe plantain . Bammy is typically served as a side dish with seafood .
Casabe in Venezuela