Creole
Telo: fried cassava with salt cod
Telo is fried cassava, usually served with bakkeljauw, salt cod soaked and fried, and sambal. A portion on the street in Paramaribo costs roughly SRD 40 to SRD 100.
The cassava is boiled soft first and then fried, which gives you an outside like a thick chip and an inside that is crumbly and slightly fibrous.
The classic pairing is bakkeljauw: salted cod soaked overnight and then fried with onion, tomato and pepper. Salt, fat and cassava, that is the entire idea.
Telo is eaten as breakfast as readily as late at night. It is one of the few dishes that is normal at any hour.
Frequently asked questions
What is telo?
Telo is fried cassava, usually served with bakkeljauw, salt cod soaked and then fried with onion and pepper. In Suriname it is eaten both as breakfast and as an evening snack.
What is bakkeljauw?
Bakkeljauw is salted, dried cod, soaked at least overnight to draw out the salt and then fried with onion, tomato and pepper. The word comes from Portuguese bacalhau.