Recipes

I’ve been learning to cook Ghanaian meals. I’ll share the recipes here just in case anyone wants to get a little taste of what I’m eating here in Ghana. Most of these meals are adapted without meat (trying to eat mostly a vegetarian diet). Although according to my counterpart, you can’t make soup without it, so I’ve compromised a little.

Kontomire Stew:

Kontomire are the leaves of the cocoyam plant. This can be substituted with spinach. I ate it with boiled yam, but it’s also eaten with rice, cocoyam, or boiled plantains.

Ingredients:

  • Kontomire or spinach
  • Palm oil
  • Water
  • Hot pepper
  • Onion
  • Garlic
  • Tomatoes
  • Salt
  • Egusi

Preparation:

  1. Rinse and chop kontomire leaves into small sizes
  2. Pour palm oil into pot and start to heat
  3. Grind pepper, onion, and garlic with water in blender until smooth
  4. Pour mixture into oil and allow to boil, stirring frequently to prevent burning (about 5 minutes)
  5. Chop tomatoes and add to pot
  6. Add salt and boil for about 5 minutes
  7. Grind egusi with water to make a paste and add to pot (about 5 minutes)
  8. Add kontomire leaves to pot and allow to boil for about 15 minutes

(Undercooked kontomire can lead to mild allergic reaction, such as itchy mouth, but overcooking vegetables causes them to lose their nutrients. It will be important to find a balance)

Ground Nut Soup:

Ground nuts are the same thing as peanuts. I ate the soup with rice balls. Rice balls are easy to make. When cooking your rice, add extra water and a little salt so the rice becomes soft. Then using a spatula mold the rice into balls.

Ingredients:

  • Water
  • Ginger
  • Hot pepper
  • Onion
  • Tomatoes
  • Salt
  • Smoked Fish or chicken
  • Ground nut paste (peanut butter)

Preparation:

  1. Grind ginger, pepper, and onion with water in the blender
  2. Pour into pot and bring to boil
  3. Add whole tomatoes and salt
  4. Clean fish and add to pot (I made this with fish, but you can use chicken pieces)
  5. Simmer for about 15 minutes
  6. Remove tomatoes and grind in blender. Return to pot and simmer.
  7. Make ground nut paste sauce by mixing peanut butter with water in a bowl. Add a little water at a time until a smooth sauce is achieved.
  8. Add to pot and boil for 20 minutes or more. You should see oil rise to the surface of soup.

(You may have to add water periodically to avoid getting to thick. The soup should be very light.)

Jollof Rice:

One of my favorite dishes here in Ghana. I like to eat it with boiled eggs.

Ingredients:

  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Tomatoes
  • Onion
  • Green pepper
  • Hot pepper
  • Water
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Salt
  • Tomato paste
  • Rice
  • Any other spices (I’ve used nutmeg and curry powder)
  • Carrots
  • Spring onion

Preparation:

  1. Grind ginger, garlic, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, and hot pepper with water in blender
  2. Heat oil in pot
  3. Add vegetable mix to oil and boil
  4. Mix in water, salt, and tomato paste
  5. Add uncooked rice and water
  6. Add desired spices and cook for 20-25 minutes
  7. Cut carrots, spring onions, and green pepper
  8. Add to rice when most of the water is gone, and finish cooking until vegetables are soft and rice is done

Red Red (Otherwise known as Bean Stew):

The bean stew is often eaten with fried plantains. Soak the plantains in salt and water for a few minutes and then fry in vegetable oil in a pan.

Ingredients:

  • Cooked Black eyed beans
  • Onions
  • Tomatoes
  • Green pepper
  • Ginger
  • Palm oil
  • Tomato paste
  • Salt
  • Any additional spices (I used nutmeg and curry powder)

Preparation:

  1. Make sure to cook the black eyed beans in advance (Soaking overnight speeds up cooking time)
  2. Grind onions, tomatoes, green pepper, and ginger with water in the blender
  3. Heat palm oil in pot and add vegetables
  4. Add spices, salt, and tomato paste
  5. Mix in beans, mashing some in the process
  6. Cook for 10 minutes or until water is gone

Palm Nut Soup:

You can eat the soup with rice balls (see under Ground Nut Soup). I have read that palm nut cream is available in African grocery stores.

Ingredients:

  • Garlic
  • Ginger
  • Onion
  • Hot pepper
  • Tomato
  • Chicken
  • Salt
  • Maggi cube (bouillon cube)
  • Can of palm nut cream

Preparation:

  1. Grind garlic, onion, and ginger with water in the blender
  2. Pour over the uncooked chicken breasts in pot
  3. Add whole tomatoes and hot pepper
  4. Season with salt and Maggi cube
  5. Add palm cream and additional water
  6. Remove cooked tomato and hot pepper and grind in blender; add back to pot (Add water if needed to maintain soup consistency)
  7. Cook until it thickens some and oil appears on the surface

Waakye:

This is a recipe where the rice and beans are cooked together, and served with a stew. I also suggest eating with salad and boiled egg.

Ingredients:

  • Cooked Black Eyed Beans
  • Waakye Leaves (Also known as red millet leaves)
  • Rice
  • Salt
  • Tomato
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Green pepper
  • Hot pepper
  • Onion
  • Oil
  • Tomato Paste
  • Maggi Cube (bouillon cube)
  • Any additional Spices (I used cinnamon, nutmeg, and curry powder)

Preparation:

  1. Make sure to cook the black eyed beans in advance (Soaking overnight speeds up cooking time)
  2. Add the Waakye leaves to the boiling beans
  3. Remove leaves when the water turns to the color of red wine
  4. Add rice, followed by salt and water
  5. Allow to cook for approximately 20 minutes before stirring again, then check every 15 minutes until rice is fully cooked
  6. To make tomato stew, separately grind tomato, ginger, garlic, green pepper, hot pepper, and onion with water in the blender
  7. Heat oil in pan
  8. Add ground vegetables to pan, followed by tomato paste and spices, salt, and half of a Maggi cube
  9. Cover and allow to simmer for about 20mins

Moringa Koosee:

This is a recipe I learned how to make at the Nutrition IST in August, and it’s so good I had to share.

Ingredients:

  • Bean Flour (1 bowl)
  • Onions (3-5)
  • Garlic (optional)
  • Moringa Leaves (2 handfuls)
  • Salt to taste
  • Oil
  • Water

Preparation:

  1. Mix bean flour with water to form thick soup
  2. Chop garlic and onions and moringa leaves and add to bean flour mix
  3. Once mixed, scoop bean mixture into hot oil
  4. Let fry until koosee is formed

If any of you tries to make any of these dishes, please message me and let me know how it goes. It may require some trial and error, but I assure you all of these are delicious.