Arañitas, “little spiders” in Spanish, is a treat for every special meal. You can use these as a side dish or as ‘munchies’.
The difference in these two side dishes is what side of the grater you use. The arañitas should have lots of cassava threads sticking out in all directions, thus the “spidery” look!
This recipe was shared with us by our friend Professor Midence.
Aniseed is sadly an underutilized spice, however, in Dominican cuisine it is the second most important ingredient in these divine cassava fritters.
Ingredients
- 2 lb of cassava
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon of aniseed
- 2 tablespoons of milk
- 1/2 cup of oil for frying
Instructions
- Peel, wash and grate the cassava. To make arañitas use the coarsest side of the grater, for arepitas de yucas the least coarse side.
- In a bowl, mix grated cassava, sugar, salt and aniseed.
- Add eggs and milk. Mix well.
- If you are making arañitas, drain the accumulated liquid from the bowl before frying.
- One tablespoonful at a time, deep-fry in very hot oil until golden brown. Be careful with hot oil splatters.
Important Notes
You can make both arañitas and arepitas at once by splitting the ingredients by half and grating each of the yuca according to the instructions above. Each has a different texture, arañitas a crispy one while arepitas are more on the chewy side.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican recipes, recipes inspired by Dominican flavors, as well as the chronicles of the Aunties' adventures in the kitchen and outside.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
hola como esta yo vivo en canada y esn este pais seme ase mul difisir conseguir muchas cosa para preparar algunos platos dominicano,pero ayer por primera ves en mi vida e preparado ara?ita de yuca y la prepare con 4 libra de yuca y me quedaron espetacular la comparti con algunos amigo canadiense y desean que yo se la prepare nuevamente,gracias a dios y a uste, siempre sorprendo a mi esposa que es canadiense con algunas cosa diferente gracias a su menu que dios la vendiga.a uste y atoda su familias.
Wondering if I can use frozen yuca for this recipe? Love your site. Thank you!!
I have never used frozen yucca, so I am not sure if it works, but if you try it please do share your experience.
I tried it with the frozen yuca (2lb bag) and also added an egg and chopped onions, it came out delicious! They were gone within seconds!
I tried with frozen yucca (1.5 lb bag) — it was a bit watery, so I added an egg to the recipe – perfecto! Gracias!
Gracias por la receta……Me encantan Mis Arepitas de Yuca…