When I was in Ghana in January, to my friends' pseudo-chagrin, I decided to awaken the Asian in me and take copious photos of the food and drink I ingested and imbibed. I ate a lot and I ate well. In another life I was a Gold Coast native, I am sure of it! Enjoy :)
HOME COOKING AND DRINKING
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| Akpeteshie cocktail with Campari and Tonic Water |
Akpeteshie is a Ghanaian alcoholic spirit made from sugar cane.
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| Clockiwse from fork: shito, jollof rice, stir-fried veggies, corn bread pudding, gari foto, potatoes au gratin, bbq chicken |
Shito is a Ghanaian condiment that literally translated means pepper. It is made with ginger, pepper, smoked powdered herring and shrimp, onion, garlic and spices. Jollof rice is the grain cooked in a tomato based sauce with onion, garlic, ginger, chilies and spices. It is a staple in many West African countries. Gari is made from mashed, dried and fermented cassava that turns into granules. Gari foto has egg, and corned beef mixed in with the cassava.
STREET FOOD
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| Roasted grounuts: peanuts and roasted plantain |
One of the main reasons I had been wanting to go to Ghana, apart from visiting my uni friends, is PLANTAIN!! Plantian is eaten all over West Africa. How I love me some plantain. Had never had it roasted before. Bought this off the street a lot during my trip. A yuick and easy snack and soooo satisfying. As they say it's the simple things in life that have the most profound effect: in this case on my belly :)
FOOD IN THE RAW
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| This is a yam out the ground. This one was about metre long. It was ridiculously heavy! |
Yam is a tuber that is common in West Africa. 95% of all yam grown in the world comes from this region and can grow to 1.5 metres and can weigh as much as 70kg!
DRINK
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| A malt non-alcoholic beverage not found in East and Southern Africa |
This stuff is brown liquid crack man! Soooooo yummy. Made from the same formula used for the beer Guinness but tastes so much better and doesn't get you drunk so you can indulge as much as you want :)
DINING OUT: TANTE MARIE RESTAURANT, ACCRA
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| Tante Marie is an Accra restaurant situated in a converted DC 10 |
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| Another non-alcoholic malt beverage |
Castle's version is not as good as Guinness'. This was not as full-bodied and as punchy. Felt a little watery and did not have the same syrupy feel and rich taste. Try this one first so things can only get better.
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| For starters L-R: Fried Plantain and fried chicken wings with shito |
The plantain was spiced with chilli and ginger.
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| Entree R-L: Grilled Tilapia with Acheke |
Tilapia is eaten all over Africa and tastes just as good in Ghana. Acheke is like couscous and originally eaten in Cote D'Ivoire and Senegal. It is made from cassava, a root that can grow in the harshest conditions and is common in the tropics: mainly Africa, Asia and South America.
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| Entree L-R: Fried Plantain and Red Red |
Plantain was fried plain. Red Red is a bean stew fried in palm oil and this version used cassava fish as the protein.
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| Entree L-R: Boiled Yam, Egusi soup |
Egusi soup is made with seeds from squashes, melons or gourds such as pumpkin or watermelon, mixed with water, palm oil, spices and vegetables and/ or meat. This was made with spinach. It is famously a Nigerian dish but has spread to other West African countries.
STREET FOOD
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| Plaintain chips L-R: unripe (savory), ripe (sweet) |
As you can see I really overdosed on plantain. How could I not when it is so versatile. There are so many ways to prepare it. When in traffic how can you resist buying a coupla packets?! I prefer the sweet to the savoury but they are both tasty :)
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| Roasted maize |
I do have to say that Ghanaian grown maize does not hold a candle to Zambian maize. Tasty but the grain is smaller, harder and not as sweet in my opinion.
COCKTAILS:
HILLBURI RESORT, ABURRI
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I was instructed to...
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| Cocktail with ginger, cucumber and apple |
...but I am not a beer drinker so I substituted a cocktail instead to accompany my enjoyment of the view he he he. This drink had a local name that has escaped me sorry :(.
REPUBLIC BAR AND GRILL, ACCRA
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| Bisap Cocktail |
Cocktails at Republic are ridiculously cheap. I got this gargantuan cocktail for about 10 cedis! Can't remember its colourful local name but it has bisap: hibiscus juice, mint, and rum in it and it was so lovely I had to have another but I got a smaller one. Everything in moderation he he he.
DINING OUT: TSARLEY KORPEY RESORT, ADA
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| L-R: salad, grilled barracuda, shito, yam chips |
Love me some seafood, especially the meaty fish kind. Dorado is still my fav, but barracuda is tasty too :)
SHOPPING IN OSU, ACCRA
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| Coconut water on the roadside |
Can't stand coconut - its taste and texture are an abomination. However it has redeeming factors: it's water is a tasty, healthy and restorative drink, the milk taste nice in curries and its oil makes my hair lovely and soft he he he ;}
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| Pistacio and malaga gelato |
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| Cashew nut gelato |
Love this twist on gelato. Cashew nuts are common crop in West Africa so when in Accra do as the Romans do I guess he he. I really enjoyed this, it tasted so sweet and creamy with great texture from the crushed nuts.
HOME COOKING
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| Okro soup with banku |
Okro soup is made with okra, palm oil and contains meat, fish and veggies. This version had crab, fish, beef chunks and salted cow skin. Never had salted cow skin - it is gelatinous in texture and is very tasty. Banku is made from pounded corn and cassava dough that is first fermented then mixed with hot water. This tastes like a fermented version of Zambian nshima: maize (and cassava) flour staple dish in East and Southern Africa.
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| L- R: Goat Stew and Eba |
Eba is made with Garri added to hot water and mixed with a wooden spoon and is a harder form of accompaniments like banku and nshima.
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| Pounded palm kernels |
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| L-R: palm nut stew and fufu |
Palm stew is made from the liquid extracted from pounding palm tree kernels mixed with onion, tomato, ginger, onion, garlic, chilli and spices. This recipe used chicken but can also be made with meat. Fufu is a common carbohydrate accompaniment in Ghana and Nigeria that is made from boiled cassava that is then pounded into a dough. It is eaten with soup and is swallowed whole (I tried chewing it just so I could understand why you are told to swallow it. I agree with the traditional, tried and tested way it has been eaten for centuries he he)
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| Palm nut stew served with Banku, accompanied by a semi-sweet white wine |
Back in the day at school RFL had taught me how to make light soup which is a tomato based soup made with stock, onion, bay leaves, chilli, garlic, ginger and potatoes and I loved it. I can say out of all the soups and stews I have had, including groundnut, palm nut stew has now eclipsed light soup as my favourite Ghanaian dish. It was the last thing I ate before I left so I ended on a high note :)
For more on Ghana, check out the country's tag right here in MbA.
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