This entry is dedicated to all of the many rice grains, spices, and chickens out there who died to make Ghanaian food the very prominent force that it is.
Ghanaians are known to use all parts of the animal in cooking, which is actually similar to typical southern cooking. However, different from the style in the south- there is very little fried food at all... most food is slow cooked in a stew or soup and eaten with a starch (plaintain, fufu, rice).
Here are some of the most popular delicacies and then further below you'll see some of the meals I ate while in Ghana.
Shitoh- a type of chilli sauce eaten with MANY of the meals! It was very spicy...so it was never on MY plate, but it seemed like a big hit with some of the girls.
Plantain- popular world-wide and used in many forms of cooking. Has a lower sugar content than the yellow bananas we are used to. Tends to be firmer and can be steamed, boiled, or fried.
Red Red- a popular dish in Ghana made from cowpeas (black-eyed peas), might be named for the combination of red pepper and red palm oil. The Red-Red cowpeas stew is usually served with Plantains. I really enjoyed Red Red...here is a recipe!!
Kenke- is a grainy dough of cornmeal and water, wrapped inside a corn husk and steamed until it reaches a dense but soft consistency, almost like Play-doh. Looks a lot like the Fufu below, its just wrapped in corn!
Fufu-Fufu is a popular starch in Ghana, although we didn't come across it that often. It's made from ground Cassava (type of grain here) and plantain. The consistency is like a gooey dumpling. I may be incorrect (help me out girls!) but I think we ate this at a hotel one night, it came in plastic bags and almost tasted like raw sourdough.
Jollof Rice (and rice in general!)- resembles Spanish rice in appearance but the spices are different. The spices are a combination of red pepper and garlic that Ghanaians seem to use in virtually all food.
Star Beer- not technically food, but we girls enjoyed a few here and there, its a nice light beer!
Malta- a non-alcoholic carbonated drink beverage made by Guinness. Never tried it because it smelled like licorice, but Keri drank it all the time!
Hope you enjoyed this entry...the pics below are from my own collection!
Food thanks to Hometouch in Accra...this was what I ate at our final banquet. Yummy!
This AWESOME looking food (including salad and tuna noodle salad) is thanks to Cuppa Cappacino, for those of you traveling to Ghana, this place is a must visit and a nice place for foreigners like us!
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