Ghanaian food, like the culture and landscape of the country itself, is more varied and diverse than you may think. While the coastal West African nation isn't huge, it boasts a range of climates and ecosystems, from tropical forests to coastal savannah and deserts. A few signature features, however, seem to define Ghana's cuisine across regions.Hearty stews and soups are popular everywhere, and all are vibrantly seasoned. Flavorings such as ginger, onions, and native spices such as calabash nutmeg and alligator pepper are generously used, as are vegetables such as bell peppers, greens, tomatoes, and okra. Legumes such as black-eyed peas are also staples and appear in a variety of dishes. And no meal would be complete without a hearty starch to soak up all the flavorful sauce or broth - either rice or swallows, which are hearty, mild mashes of cassava, rice, corn, or a mixture of these. In short, Ghanaian food offers plenty of opportunities for exploration.
HOW TO MAKE AUTHENTIC GHANA PEANUT BUTTER SOUP- NKATEKWAN|GROUNDNUT SOUP RECIPE
Peanut Soup
Peanuts and other groundnuts (such as tiger nuts) have long been staples in African cooking and are used in many cuisines across the continent. A popular Ghanaian dish that showcases peanuts is peanut soup, a savory concoction of ground peanuts (or peanut butter) thinned with water or broth and seasoned with tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppers, and onions. The thick (but not completely smooth) soup is typically served with a choice of meat or seafood along with a starchy side, making it a substantial meal in itself.Recipe for Ghanaian Peanut Soup
1. Place tomatoes, onions, habanero, and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan on high heat.2. Bring to a boil and cook for about 15 minutes.3. Transfer to a blender and purée with mushrooms and ginger.4. In a separate pot, combine 1-1/2 cups water and peanut butter, stir, and bring to a boil.5. Turn down the heat to low and simmer until the oil from the peanut butter rises to the top.6. Add the peanut mixture to the tomato mixture and add the remaining 10 cups of water.7. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.8. Add tofu and greens, cooking for 5 more minutes.9. Serve with omu tuo, fufu, cooked white rice, or boiled yam.Breakfast Dishes
In Ghana, cooks and eaters take breakfast seriously. While Ghanaians with desk jobs might grab a coffee and some bread on the way out the door, their compatriots with more physically strenuous jobs take care to fortify themselves with a substantial morning meal. Thick, hearty porridges are common choices. Among these, the fermented corn porridge koko is especially esteemed. Adding to the nutritional power of this breakfast dish is its traditional accompaniment, koose - crunchy, spiced fritters made from soaked, puréed black-eyed peas seasoned with ginger and Scotch bonnet chiles. While koose is a popular snack across West Africa in its own right (it's known in other countries as akara), it's considered an indispensable partner to the tangy-sweet porridge.Fufu
Ghana is one of many West African countries that claim fufu as its own, and some authorities believe it originated there. Regional variations of fufu abound. While Ghanaians typically make theirs with cassava and green plantains, other ingredients, such as West African yam, are used further north. Cooks in other regions enhance their fufu with additional flavorings, such as salt, pepper, garlic, and even fried pork belly. Plain fufu is naturally cholesterol free, which makes it a good complement to balance out a rich, meaty stew or soup, and the fiber- and potassium-rich dish also aids in digestion.How to make Fufu
1. Remove the yams, cook, and peel.2. Place in a food processor, and run briefly to remove lumps. PUREE!3. until smooth.Okra Soup or Stew
Okra is native to West Africa, and African cooks were the first to make use of it, making the slender green pods the star ingredient in a number of favorite dishes. Ghanaian cooks prepare okra in a number of ways, but one of their best-known preparations is okra soup or stew. While the name suggests a basic vegetable braise, this vibrant dish is a meal in itself. To make it, cooks stew tomatoes, onions, garlic, chiles, and other seasonings (such as bouillon cubes or shrimp flavoring) in palm oil until soft. They then add broth and meat or seafood (beef is traditional, but smoked turkey, fish, or shellfish are other options) and simmer until the meat is cooked. Sliced or chopped okra is added last. If you dislike the slimy, viscous texture of cooked okra, you can avoid it by cutting the okra into large pieces and cooking it only briefly.Jollof Rice
To a casual observer, jollof rice may look like a simple bowl of rice stained red by tomatoes, but there's more to this popular dish than meets the eye. Enormously popular across West Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and Ghana all claim it as one of their national dishes. Good ideas tend to spread, and cooks in Nigeria and Ghana developed their own versions of jollof rice. In these versions, however, tomatoes are highlighted while fish is optional. A few regional differences distinguish Ghanaian jollof rice from that of Nigeria: While Nigerian cooks use long-grain rice, Ghanaian cooks prefer basmati or jasmine rice for a more tender texture.Recipe for Jollof Rice
1. In a saucepan over low heat, combine oil, onions, and tomato paste.2. In a blender, combine habanero, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic.3. Add the mixture to the pan along with the vegetable broth.4. Add Adobo, curry powder, turmeric, garlic and herb seasoning, nutmeg, and salt to taste.5. Add rice and cook for 45 minutes on low heat, until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.Angwamu (Oil Rice)
Rice is popular in Ghana, especially in the southern regions of the country, and a number of Ghana's best-loved dishes showcase it. One of the simplest and most popular of these dishes is angwamu, or "oil rice." While this unassuming preparation looks like a pot of plain, boiled rice, it's loaded with flavor. The simplicity of the dish not only makes it a good choice for novice cooks (or time-pressed, experienced cooks), but is part of why the dish has earned another nickname of baby rice - it's widely favored as a dish that's both mild and nutritious enough to feed to babies.Bofrot
A love for fried dough seems to be nearly universal in the world's food traditions, and Ghana is no exception. A popular street food worth looking for (it won't be hard to find) is bofrot - small, round, fried yeasted doughnuts. Variations of this snack are common across West Africa and go by a number of names - the Nigerian version of this doughnut is affectionately known as puff-puff. To make the doughnuts, yeast is mixed into a thick batter of flour, sugar, butter, vanilla, nutmeg, and cinnamon and allowed to rise until the batter is doubled in size and bubbly. Balls of the batter are dropped into hot oil and fried until golden brown. Some versions include eggs and milk in the batter, and some cooks top their bofrot with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.Light Soup
Light soup, which originated as a tomato and seafood soup created by fishing communities in the coastal regions of Ghana's capital, Accra, is only light in comparison to Ghana's other, super-hearty soup-stews (peanut soup, okra soup). While it's not super thick, it's certainly not light in flavor. The bold, tomato-based broth is spiced with habanero peppers, onions, and sometimes shrimp powder. While it originally was served with cooked seafood, once it gained popularity in other regions of Ghana, versions including meats such as spiced chicken, beef, or goat emerged. Today, the meat versions are just as popular, if not more so, than the seafood-based original.Nkatie
Nkatie is a textbook example of how creative cooks can accomplish a lot with very few ingredients. It's also so straightforward and simple to make that it's often among the first dishes Ghanaian girls learn to cook. To make your own nkatie, mix finely chopped peanuts into an equal weight of granulated sugar that has been cooked until golden. Once the peanuts and caramel have been combined, pour them quickly onto a greased cutting board and roll into a rectangle with a greased rolling pin. Working quickly, cut the mixture into diamonds while still warm and soft. The brittle will harden as it cools.Grilled Tilapia with Banku
And, cooks in Ghana have devised flavorful ways to make use of tilapia. A simple and popular preparation often seen at roadside stands is to generously spice and then grill the fish, which is then served with a spicy blend of chopped hot peppers, tomatoes, and onion along with banku, a starchy mass of fermented cornmeal and ground cassava.Red-Red
Another quintessential Ghanaian dish worth seeking out is red-red, a flavorful and colorful stew of black-eyed peas cooked with palm oil and tomatoes, along with other flavorings including onions, ginger, and garlic. The dish is said to get its name from the bright red color contributed by both the palm oil and the tomatoes. Red palm oil, a key ingredient in the dish, comes from oil palms native to West Africa and is considered an essential ingredient in Ghanaian food and other West African nations. While fully vegetarian versions of red-red can be made, it can also be cooked with seafood such as crayfish or smoked meat for an extra hit of flavor. If you want to add smokiness without adding meat, a dash of smoked paprika will do the trick. Red-red is traditionally enjoyed throughout the day.Recipe for Red-Red
1. Soak the beans in fresh water for about 2 hours or overnight, this makes the cooking process quicker. You can also soak the beans in hot water for half an hour before cooking. Cook the beans for 30 to 45 minutes until soft.2. Chop the vegetables. Saute the onions until caramelized then add the tomato paste.3. Add the garlic, fry about 30 seconds then add the ginger and tomatoes in and fry until they have cooked down. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. The scotch bonnet peppers can be added with the tomatoes. They are potently spicy so I advise you add them whole with just a prick to regulate the heat. Remove when serving.4. Add the cooked beans and vegetable stock then allow to simmer for half an hour on low heat. During this time you can prepare the plantains.5. Take 4 plantains. Peel, slice, season with salt and deep fry or oven roast.6. If you do not have easy access to palm oil, try coconut oil if it's in your pantry. A lot of flavour is infused from the oil you use, and palm oil gives this dish that original West African flavour. These ingredients should all be accessible at your local grocery store. To get your hands on palm oil or plantains, try an Afro Caribbean or Asian store, in an organic store like Wholefoods or check online.Kelewele
Ghanaian cooks have a deep appreciation for carbs, and starchy, cooked plantains make regular appearances at the table. While plain boiled or fried plantains are commonly served alongside other, more assertively flavored dishes such as red-red or jollof rice, plantains don't always have to be bland background players in Ghanaian cooking. A case in point is kelewele, a favorite side dish and snack consisting of brightly spiced and fried plantain chunks. To make it, cooks mix peeled chunks of ripe plantains with grated ginger, raw onions, and garlic, along with spices including cayenne, aniseed, nutmeg, and salt. After the chunks have absorbed the flavors (about 30 minutes), they're deep-fried until brown, then served hot.Recipe for Kelewele
1. Peel the avocados; cut out the stone and cut into cubes.2. lemon juice and set aside.3. or in a grinder for a few seconds. Mix the peanuts and spices well.4. Sprinkle over the avocados with finely chopped chives.Yam Pottage or Yam Porridge
It's time to settle the annual Thanksgiving debate once and for all: No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same thing. True yams are large, starchy, tubers from vines native to Asia, West Africa, and South America, and unlike sweet potatoes, (which are tubers of an unrelated plant) are not sweet or orange. Thus, when Ghanaian cooks refer to dishes with yams, don't expect anything sweet or orange to show up at the table. Instead, the true African yam commonly used in Ghanaian food will be white and starchy. It's often simply boiled and mashed to be served as a neutral starch alongside stews and soups, but it can also be a starring ingredient in spicy dishes such as yam pottage or yam porridge, a savory stew of yam chunks cooked with onions, garlic, shrimp powder, habanero chiles, bell peppers, and smoked fish. Palm oil and sometimes tomatoes can be included, as well as bouillon cubes for extra flavoring.Waakye
For a dish that is equally at home for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, try the traditional Ghanaian dish waakye. The name waakye comes from the Hausa phrase 'shinkafa da wake' which translates as rice and beans - two feature ingredients of this dish. These two simple staple ingredients are infused with rich, complex flavors from the spices they are cooked in, creating a delicious filling dish that has numerous variations across the country. Common spices used include ginger, scotch bonnet chilis, and paprika, so it is not a dish for the faint hearted. Though waakye itself may seem like a simple dish, it is the accompaniments that turn it into a feast, and they can be varied and plentiful. Though it can be eaten as a filling meal at any time of day, the people of Ghana love to eat waakye for breakfast. It is sold as street food, often on a banana leaf with the delicious layers piled high on top. Cooking the dish with sorghum leaves gives it the distinctive red hue to match the deep, smoky flavor.Kenkey
If you have never tried the Ghanaian delicacy kenkey, you are in for a treat. Delicious dumplings made from fermented maize dough, they are often served alongside fried fish to make a substantial meal. There are two main types of kenkey - ga and fante. They originate from different tribes, and the main difference is that ga kenkey is fermented for two to three days before being wrapped in a husk of corn, whereas fante kenkey is fermented for a longer period of time and wrapped in plantain leaves instead. The dumplings are then steamed to perfection, before being served with fish and a spicy sauce made with peppers. Both types of kenkey are delicious served with fish such as tilapia or red snapper, though they will work well with any type of fish.Tuo Zaafi
Let's explore the ultimate in Ghanaian comfort food - in the hearty tuo zaafi. Referred to locally as TZ, it is a slow-cooked dish made from millet flour that is then served on top of a nutritious soup. The most common soup to serve with tuo zaafi is ayoyo, made from jute leaves. These bitter green leaves are highly nutritious, making tuo zaafi a meal that will fill you up and nourish you at the same time. If you want to make tuo zaafi at home, spinach leaves can be substituted for ayoyo. Like most African food, ayoyo soup is filled with warming spices such as chilis, ginger, and star anise, giving it a deep flavor to accompany the hearty tuo zaafi.Wasawasa
So, what is wasawasa? Well, it's similar to couscous (which is also from Africa) in terms of texture. However, instead of being made with semolina and water, it is made with water and yam flour, aka dried yam peels. Regardless of its popularity (or lack thereof), wasawasa is incredibly versatile - just like couscous. To make wasawasa, you start by adding a small amount of water to a bowl of yam flour. Then, you mix it with your hands until it starts to form small round clumps. When the texture comes together, the mixture is placed in a steaming pot and cooked for several minutes, often over a flame. After that, it is rinsed (maybe twice, if you feel inclined) and put back over the flame for about 10 more minutes until the texture is just right. In Ghana, it is typically paired with spicy sauces, beans, onions, and other vegetables or a protein.Shito
People around the world love hot sauce, and many countries have their own regional variations. You can probably think of quite a few, no problem. Shito, or shitor din, is the Ghanaian version of hot sauce. It is a spicy pepper concoction (with a touch of sweetness), and, as it turns out, it's quite popular. Maybe it's because it can be used as a sauce or condiment on just about anything. Or, maybe it's just because people love a bit of heat. Either way, it is definitely a Ghanaian food you need to try at least once. Shito is a dark, relish-like sauce that boasts a potent aroma and a deep, smokey, earthy flavor. Depending on how it's made, it can also have a fishy taste. In Ghana, every family has their own recipe for shito, but most recipes use a crayfish or smoked prawn powder to deepen and enrich flavor. When it comes to adding shito to your collection of condiments, you don't have to make it from scratch unless you want to (it's not all that difficult).Garden Egg Stew
Popular in Ghana, Nigeria, and other West African countries, garden egg stew is another hearty, brothy dish Ghanaian food claims as its own. As the name suggests, it is a stew made with garden eggs, but the fun doesn't stop there. Garden egg stew is also rich with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and ginger, giving it an abundance of rich, aromatic flavors. Before we get too ahead of ourselves, garden eggs may not be what you think - they certainly aren't eggs harvested from chickens living near a garden. Instead, garden eggs are a teardrop fruit similar to an eggplant or South American tomato. They can even have a pale color that makes them resemble actual eggs. If you are wondering why you've never heard of them or seen them before at the grocery store, it's because they are indigenous to Sub-Saharan Africa. Still, you can easily make garden egg stew at home with small eggplants.General Tips for Cooking Ghanaian Food
When it comes to food preparation, one thing my mom told me that I always remember is that once you learn how to make a basic stew or soup base, you can make any Ghanaian dish. Stews usually consist of tomatoes, onions, garlic, chili peppers, and spices, and soups are the same but with more water added. To make specific dishes, different ingredients are added such as spinach or kontomire leaves for kontomire stew, or peanut butter for nkatenkwan (peanut soup).Traditional meals are already vegetable-centric, with animal products added as desired, and not required in dishes. Although meat is eaten a lot in Ghana, fruits and vegetables can be found in abundance in grocery stores, markets, and food stands. Meat can easily be replaced with tofu, tempeh, or other soy products.What's most enticing about Ghanaian food is how it can be eaten in many different ways, mixing and matching components for unique culinary experiences every time. While some dishes are typically paired with specific foods, these combinations are flexible, allowing for limitless variety.| Dish | Description | Main Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Peanut Soup | Savory soup made with ground peanuts | Peanuts, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, peppers, onions |
| Fufu | Pounded starchy dough | Cassava, plantains, yams |
| Jollof Rice | Tomato-pepper rice dish | Rice, tomatoes, peppers, onions |
| Red-Red | Black-eyed pea stew | Black-eyed peas, palm oil, tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic |
| Kelewele | Spiced fried plantain chunks | Plantains, ginger, onions, garlic, cayenne, aniseed, nutmeg |
| Waakye | Rice and beans dish | Rice, black-eyed peas, waakye leaves, spices |
| Kenkey | Dumplings made from fermented maize dough | Maize dough, corn husks or plantain leaves |
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