Ghanaian food is a mix of paradise found, flavoursome goodness and delights to tantalise the taste buds. You know, if we had to summarise it in one sentence. Here’s a starter of some favourites on the menu. It’s sugar and spice and all things food. You’ve been served.
WoW Contents At A Glance
A is for Apapransa
The joyous fusion of palm nut soup and roasted maize flour are the main components of this dish. Filling and eye-catching, especially when garnished with crabs, you certainly won’t forget it in a hurry.
B is for Banku
To make banku is to get a lesson in: proportionate mixing of fermented corn and cassava dough, achieving a smooth consistency and being rewarded with perfect lump-free balls. Serve with soup, stew or a pepper sauce with fish. Tilapia usually wins here.
C is for Chichinga
This skewered meaty addition – also spelt kyinkyinga – is a must on any party table or street food venue. Lamb, beef, pork, chicken…the possibilities are endless. Don’t forget the all important liberal sprinkling of chichinga powder which is made from a mixture of roasted cornmeal, red pepper, pulverized peanuts, salt and other spices. You don’t want to miss that distinctive zing.
D is for Domedo
This spicy pork belly delicacy has become an institution unto itself. An unmissable component of Ghana’s street food scene, domedo can be fried, grilled or roasted to accompany kenkey, fried yam or banku with pepper. Of course, you can skip the additions and dig into the sizzle on its own.
E is for Ekwegbemi
Coarse corn meal eaten as a cereal with milk and sugar to taste. As a child in Kumasi, I used to listen out for Eno Mary, the neighbourhood ekwegbemi seller. Her melodious ditty alerting the neighbourhood of the readiness of “hot hot ekwegbemi” was one of the firm sounds of the morning. Good old days.
F is for Fufu
This dish is traditionally made by boiling cassava, yam, plantain and/or cocoyam, and then pounding them into a dough-like consistency using a mortar and pestle. Due to the exertion in making fufu, you really must sit down to the finished meal with the view to enjoying every last morsel. Or, you may also skip all of that and purchase any of the ready-mix powdered versions available on the market. Enjoy with just about any local soup going – See ‘N’ for some examples.
G is for Gari
The multi-functional gari can be eaten sweet (soaked in water with sugar and milk, popularly known as ‘gari soakings’) or savoury (with gravy, soup or shito – See ‘S’)
H is for Hausa Koko
This popular meal is available from the time the cock crows. Made from components including corn, millet, ginger, dried pepper, hwentia (Grains of Selim), fom wisa (Grains of paradise) and soro wisa (West African pepper), it is guaranteed to hit the spot and set you up for the morning.
I is for Iced Kenkey
The divine ice kenkey is the art of giving kenkey a new lease of life. Perfection is achieved by mashing the kenkey to a watery mix, with sugar and milk added to taste. Pop it into the fridge to complete the ice cool goodness.
J is for Jollof Rice
There’s a longstanding battle on social media and in real time to decide which West African country lays claim to the best version of this one-pot dish of deliciousness. Made with a tomato stew base to which rice and spices are added and allowed to slow cook, jollof is the summation of all that perfectly cooked rice should be. Rest assured they don’t come tastier than the Ghanaian version. And that’s that on that.
K is for Kelewele
Diced, well-spiced fried ripe plantain that is the stuff of enjoyable snacking. What’s not to like? I also have an untested theory that kelewele is always the first to finish at the buffet table of any Ghana/West African party.
L is for Lapiwa
This is one of the slangs for kokonte, a dish made from cassava flour and usually enjoyed with a variety of soups. Kokonte is also popularly known as “face the wall”.
M is for Momoni
One not exactly for the faint-hearted. This salted fish could blaze its way through the nostrils of a sleeping person – and wake them up. Some have their pungent delicacies in cheese and so on. In Ghana some of ours are in momoni and its ilk (eg. koobi, totobi, dawadawa). Keep calm and spice your local soups and stews with it.
N is for Nkwan
We seriously love soup (nkwan – Akan word for soup) in Ghana, and, thankfully, the national palate serves different options. These include soups made from palmnut, groundnut, sesame and an assortment of green leaves, among others.
O is for Omo Tuo
One for the rice lovers, omo tuo is cooked with more water to achieve a soft consistency, and then rolled into small balls. Usually served with groundnut or palmnut soup.
P is for Prekese
Prekese goes by the sonorously alliterative botanical name, Tetrapleura tetraptera (…go on, say it again. I know I did). Your soup will thank you for its flavoursome contribution. Not one to slack in life, prekese is also notable for its medicinal uses.
R is for Red Red
Getting its colourful name from being cooked with palm oil, red red is black-eyed bean stew. For the love of beans, have it with fried plantain and gari to make it a memorable threesome.
S is for Shito
This black pepper sauce is as ubiquitous as the wind. From being a student companion taking pride of place in the ‘chop boxes’ of boarding schoolers, to finding itself a suitable accompaniment to almost everything under the sun, you will soon love the fiery presence of shito. Call it a black magic potion for every season of life, if you will.
T is for Tuo Zaafi (‘TZ’)
‘TZ’ can go far with you. I mean, it can be made from millet, corn, sorghum or cassava mixtures, and enjoyed with soup. Tell me, if that isn’t going the whole nine yards with you, what is?
U is for Umbles
Umbles are the entrails of deer which some people add to soups. Those who have had it tell me it needs to be eaten to be believed.
W is for Waakye
Your typical waakye meal consists of cooked rice and beans with stew, plus any combination of spaghetti, moist gari, fried fish, meat, boiled egg, fried plantain or kelewele and vegetable salad. It is the stuff of goodness, the stuff of legend, the stuff of morning joy, the stuff of – okay, it is rather obvious waakye is a firm favourite of mine. At this point, I’d like to thank Mama Tess Special Waakye Joint at Kaneshie for many delicious meals. She and I are even on first name terms. That’s special.
And yes, you can totally begin your morning on a Hausa koko vibe and proceed to waakye straight after – because why pick one when you can have both?
Y is for Yam
In the food world, the humble yam is high on the list of ‘Most Versatile Vegetable’. What do I mean by that? You may bake, boil, fry, mash, pound or roast yam.
Z is for Zomi
Zomi is palm oil cured in an especial way, giving it a distinct flavour and tasty sediment. May it forever make meals memorable.
So, there you have it! Delicious food for thought, wouldn’t you say?
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I is for Iced kenkey took me out! LOL! I looooove ice kenkey. There’s a shop in Accra called Fruit Kenkey that I’m dying to visit on my next visit back home. I can’t wait to explore the flavor profiles of all their mixes. Thanks for this food tour and the nostalgia.
Ice kenkey is the elixir of life! Thank you for reading, and for that tip. Will definitely check out Fruit Kenkey next time I’m home too!
Love your list!
Thanks, Joseyphina!
This is amazing! The ABC of Ghanaian food! Perfect way to teach children our culture. I love this!
Thank you so much, Dorothy!
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This post is sooo cute and lets just say J for jellof always has to go to Nigeria! No I am joking it really depends on the mood I am. Do I want fat rice or skinny rice. Lol 🤣😂
Great post!
At least we agree on J 😂. Thanks for reading!
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