Ghana Food Journal, Part I

in #accra5 years ago (edited)

In nearly every place we visit, the cuisine makes up an integral part of our experience. There's a lot to be said for visiting the monuments, learning the history, and meeting the people, but I almost feel like we understand a place best through its food. So feed us, Ghana! We want to know you...

Banku



Our first meal was at an Adabraka institution called Champion Dishes, recommended by the people who run our Airbnb. And the fact that we returned three times in the first week should say a lot. They have different specials every day, and we loved the first so much, we've kept returning for more.

So banku was our introduction to Ghanaian cuisine, and I think it did a great job. It taught us that eating with our hands was not just acceptable, but expected, as long as we used our right hands! (The left hand is associated with a different bodily task, and eating with it would be horrifying to Ghanaians.) Banku also familiarized us with the gooey masses so beloved in this country. Other dishes like fufu and kenkey are similar: glutinous balls you have to rip apart and dip into stew.

Banku is made of cassava root and fermented corn. It has a slightly tangy taste, thanks to the fermentation, and is usually served with a bowl of stew, along with chicken, beef, goat or fish. Once you get over the weirdness of eating stew with your hand, it's both delicious and fun.

Jollof



Much more recognizable to our palates was Jollof, a type of red fried rice served with meat and veggies. The redness comes from tomato paste and red palm oil, and the dish is spiced with ginger, cumin, onions and salt. This is not just a Ghanaian dish, but one popular throughout West Africa. Apparently, there's a competition between Ghana and Nigeria for whose is the best.

Okra Soup with Omo Tuo



There's no consensus on where okra is actually from -- theories include South Asia, Ethiopia and West Africa -- but one thing we can all agree on: it's slimy. We had okra soup served with squish balls of rice known as omo tuo, in a rich groundnut soup. I had mine with tilapia.

Another meal best enjoyed with your (right!) hand, the okra added an extra layer of complexity to the task of eating... the slimy texture stuck to our hands and dripped from mouths, over our chins and back into the bowl. I would have felt gross, but everyone else in the diner looked just as sloppy.

Gari Fotor



Possibly our favorite meal in the first couple weeks was Gari Fotor, which we discovered at Trafix, an excellent restaurant in the bottom of the National Theater. I ordered it not knowing exactly what to expect, but loved the result. Gari is made of ground cassava root, and mixed with onions and peppers to produce the dish, then topped with egg and pate, and served along fried chicken.

Tiger Nuts (Atadwe)

Ghana-Tigernuts


We already knew all about tiger nuts. In Valencia, they're called chufas, and are used to make the popular Valencian beverage known as horchata. I was shocked to learn that most commercial horchatas sold in Spain are actually made with tiger nuts imported from Africa, instead of those grown in the fields north of Valencia.

You can't go a block without encountering a woman balancing a tray of tiger nuts on her head, and although they can be ground and used in desserts and drinks, they're most often consumed raw, as a slightly chewy snack. And if you're wondering why it seems to be mostly men enjoying them... it's widely believed here that they increase male potency.


Sloppy Time with Okra Soup

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ǝɹǝɥ sɐʍ ɹoʇɐɹnƆ pɐW ǝɥ┴

Oh my... WHAT an amazing post! I've recently become obsessed with eating Ethiopian food, just love the complexity of the herbs and spices in my food, and am learning different recipes, including their 'flatbread' which is made from fermented dough. These meals look delicious as well but I can't find a restaurant with food from Ghana in my city - so I'll have to leave it to my imagination for now :D Bon apetit!

I must try Ethiopian food, seems tasty

Thank you ... the food here is great and affordable. You might want to look for West African Restaurants maybe? The food of West Africa can be similar.

I didn't know that they were eating with a hand too! The guy I know was telling me that they eat a lot of legumes, grains and lamb but he didn't mention that all is done with hands :) I can imagine that the taste is amazing as African meals have such delicious spices...

My dad in law only eats with his hand at home (traditional way of eating in Indonesia) but as he doesn't go to the restaurants very often, it is fun to see him eating with the cutlery :) It's like he would be a baby boy again :)

Thank you for reading and I'm looking forward to seeing more details from Ghana! It's been fun so far :)

Poor dad in law, he must now that everyone is watching him from the family when he eats in a restaurant. They're not eating all dishes with hands, for example Jollof rice is eating with a fork or spoon. The cool thing is, when you're in a restaurant and you ordered a dish which eating by hand, they bring out a bowl of water and soap, so you can wash your hands right at the table.

Ghana has been a blast so far ... stay tuned for many more posts to come.

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I like this post a lot, I love foreign food i am curios about it, so I will resteem your post.

Thank you so much for that!!! And happy you liked this post.

Haha, SLOPPY time! I love that gif. The dishes look great. Yeah, I learned to eat with my right hand in Asia. And it was hard because I'm a lefty.
When I went back home, I was nice and stubborn and would eat with my hand for a long time whenever possible LOL. It shocked my family! (which was possibly my goal 😉)
If you really think about it, people first ate with hands or sticks until the Westerners brought 'civilization', but living in different parts of the world, and now back in Europe for too so long, makes me wonder if we're really that civilized at all...
It's great to see a post from you again, I seem to have missed a bit. Keeping an eye on your travels now!

I think you have way more personal connection to the food. You're really feeding yourself and feeling the food's textured. It's much more sensual.

Any news on that guy from poland?

Very true, and I tend to prefer the more natural way of things. And since sticking a piece of metal in your mouth to eat isn't the most natural thing to do, I love it when it's possible to eat with the hands.

No, no news regarding that, I am going to have to call a lawyer over there since I didn't get a response from any of the 6 I contacted. Or maybe try one here, but not sure how that works. I did get the case number from the police over there, so that's something at least.
My shoulder still isn't quite right. And because I have to make an effort not to use that side too much, now my left shoulder is painful as well and my neck started to hurt, probably from being out of balance.
So yeah, even though I was VERY lucky to still get up after that, it still has a nasty little tail.

Anyway, I'm not here to depress you haha. So enjoy your time in Ghana! I will be keeping an eye on your blog and see what kind of adventure you will get into :D

Looks fucking delicious

Maybe it will convince you to add Ghana to your list.

It'll be hard as I am going to hitchhike only and did not plan to go to Africa :D

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You can hitchhike in Ghana but getting here would be hard, crossing the Sahara!

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Thank you. Very educational and interesting.

Happy you liked it, thank you so much for stopping by.

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