Garba

Name: Garba
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 600 g tuna, cut into large chunks, skin and bone in if available; 1½ tsp salt; 2 cloves garlic, crushed; 750 ml neutral vegetable oil; 800 g attiéké (cassava couscous); 1 onion, chopped; 2 tomatoes, diced; 3 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

Non-vegetarian

Attiéké topped with chunks of crisp fried tuna, raw onion, tomato and fiery fresh chilli, doused in a little frying oil. Abidjan's cheapest, most beloved street lunch.

Garba is an Ivorian main course from Côte d'Ivoire, ready in about 35 minutes and made with tuna, attiéké (cassava couscous) and fresh red chilli. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

Attiéké with fried tuna, chopped onion, tomato and chilli on a plate — Photo: Cyriac Gbogou / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 20 min
Total: 35 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 643

Ingredients

4 servings

600 g Tuna (opens in a new tab), cut into large chunks, skin and bone in if availableFresh or frozen tuna steaks.Swap: MackerelContains fish
1½ tsp (9 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
2 cloves (8 g) Garlic (opens in a new tab), crushed
750 ml Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)For frying; about 60 g is absorbed or spooned over.
800 g Attiéké (cassava couscous) (opens in a new tab)
1 (110 g) Onion (opens in a new tab), chopped
2 (240 g) Tomatoes (opens in a new tab), diced
3 (18 g) Fresh red chilli (opens in a new tab), finely chopped

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Rub the tuna (opens in a new tab) chunks with 1 tsp salt and the garlic (opens in a new tab).
- 3 min
2
Step 2
Heat the oil to 180 °C and fry the tuna (opens in a new tab) in batches until deeply browned and crisp outside, 6–8 minutes. Drain.
- 15 min
- 180°C
- medium-high heat
- Frying pan / skillet (opens in a new tab)
- Food thermometer (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Pat the fish dry before frying to limit spattering; never leave hot oil unattended.
3
Step 3
Steam or microwave the attiéké (opens in a new tab) until hot and season with the remaining salt.
- 5 min
- medium-high heat
- Steamer (opens in a new tab)
4
Step 4
Pile attiéké (opens in a new tab) on plates, top with the crisp tuna (opens in a new tab), onion (opens in a new tab), tomato (opens in a new tab) and chilli, and spoon over a little of the hot frying oil.
- 3 min

About this dish

Origin: Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire · Commonly attributedA street dish of Abidjan, popularised in the late 20th century in small eateries called garbadromes.More food from Côte d'Ivoire
Dish: Lunch · Dinner · Main courses · Street food
Cooking method: Deep-fried, Steamed
Taste: spicy (chilli heat), savoury, sour
Diet: Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labels
Pescatarian · Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Street food · Budget-friendly
Cook more with: Tuna · Attiéké (cassava couscous) · Fresh red chilli · Garlic · Onion · Tomato
Techniques: Deep-frying · Steaming

Allergens

Contains: Fishfrom tuna

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

643 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 461 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 25%
Carbohydrate 51%
Fat 23%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	643 kcal	139 kcal
Protein	40.4 g	8.8 g
Carbohydrate	82.1 g	17.8 g
Net carbohydrate	77.2 g	16.7 g
Sugars	6.4 g	1.4 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	4.9 g	1.1 g
Fat	16.5 g	3.6 g
Saturated fat	1.5 g	0.3 g
Trans fat	0.1 g	0 g
Cholesterol	59 mg	13 mg
Sodium	974 mg	211 mg
Salt equivalent	2.4 g	0.5 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 1409 mg
Calcium: 55 mg
Iron: 2 mg
Magnesium: 105 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 56 µg
Vitamin C: 59 mg
Vitamin D: 2.6 µg
Vitamin B12: 3.1 µg
Folate (DFE): 72 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Attiéké (cassava couscous): Raw cassava (FDC 169985) used as a stand-in; attiéké is steamed fermented cassava pulp with a broadly similar moisture and starch content.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

A crumbled stock cube over the top is the typical street-stall finish.

Common mistakes

Frying the tuna in oil that isn't hot enough — it stews instead of crisping.

Food safety

Cook tuna through when frying it in chunks; eat garba straight away and don't keep leftovers more than a day in the fridge.

Storage

Best eaten immediately.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Tuna, cut into large chunks, skin and bone in if available600 g
Attiéké (cassava couscous)800 g
Tomato, diced2 piece · 240 g
Fresh red chilli, finely chopped3 piece · 18 g

Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

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