Put the 800 g palm nut paste in a mixing bowl and whisk in 800 ml lukewarm water.

Let the diluted palm mixture rest for 5 minutes and strain it into a large pot.

Season the 1 kg oxtail with salt and black pepper. Brown it over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Pour the strained palm liquid over the oxtail and bring it to a boil.

Add the 2 tomatoes, 1 onion, and chili pepper whole. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove the cooked tomatoes and onion from the pot. Blend them until smooth.

Return the blended vegetables to the sauce and stir in 1 tbsp crawfish powder.

Add the crab and smoked fish if using. Simmer the sauce over low heat for 60 minutes.

Peel the 3 yellow plantains and remove their central fibers. Peel the cassava and remove its fibrous core.

Rinse the plantain and cassava pieces. Cover them with water in a second large pot.

Boil the plantain and cassava until very soft, about 25 minutes. Drain them well.

Pound the cooked plantain and cassava together for 20 minutes. Moisten your hands and shape the mixture into smooth balls.

Check that the palm oil has risen to the sauce surface and the oxtail pulls apart easily. Serve the foutou with the hot sauce graine.

Rinse the plantain and cassava, then put them in a container with plenty of water to cook.

Once they are well cooked and softened, start pounding them.

Pound both sides, then put them back together.

Pound for 20 minutes to form the foutou.

With wet hands, shape the foutou.