A traditional Jamaican dish — Bammy is a flat cassava cake, a heritage food of the Taino people that Jamaicans still make and love today. The grated cassava is pressed into rounds, griddled, then soaked in coconut milk and fried until the edges turn lacy and crisp. It is the classic partner for fried and escovitch fish.
Bammy
A traditional Jamaican dish — Bammy is a flat cassava cake, a heritage food of the Taino people that Jamaicans still make and love today.

Step by stepInstructions
- If using fresh cassava, peel it, remove the woody core and grate finely; squeeze the grated cassava in a clean cloth to press out as much liquid as possible.
- Stir the salt into the cassava and press the mixture into flat, round cakes about 4 inches (10 cm) across and ½ inch (1 cm) thick; dry them in a low oven for 30 minutes, or use prepared bammy cakes.
- Mix the coconut milk with the water in a shallow dish and soak each bammy for 10 to 15 minutes, turning once, so it softens through.
- Heat the oil, with the butter if using, in a skillet over medium-high heat and fry the bammies for 3 to 4 minutes per side, until golden and crisp at the edges.
- Drain on paper towels and serve hot with fried fish, escovitch fish or ackee and saltfish.
💡 Chef tips & storage
Never skip the coconut milk soak — it keeps the bammy moist inside while the outside crisps. Prepared bammy is sold refrigerated in Caribbean stores and works perfectly.

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