TAPIOCA TALES

CE presents the story of cassava, a humble tuber that has emerged as a staple on Chennai roads

- SUPRIYA

FEW ingredients have travelled as far, and adapted as well, as cassava aka tapioca. What began as a humble root in the forests of South America has found a home in kitchens across continents from West African villages to Taiwanese tea shops and, closer to home, Chennai’s kitchens, where kappakilangu or maravallikilangu has become a favourite.

Tapioca is derived from the cassava plant, native to Brazil and cultivated by Indigenous peoples long before Europeans arrived. The very word ‘tapioca’ comes from the Tupi language, meaning the starch extracted from the cassava root.