Delicious Ghanaian Dishes....

[Kentake]

Greetings to all !!
This is Sistah Kentake, i'm a new member here at this site.Since I know black people luv good food I want to share some recipes/snacks that I learned while I was in GHANA in 2002. I was there for 3 mos./4 those of u who know about GHANA &/or have already been there I was staying in Dansoman Estates in Accra, in Tema for awhile, and also in Cape Coast- in these regions u have the GAN-ADANGBE people(originally 4frm Accra), the EWES (originally 4frm the Volta region) and ofcourse most commonly the AKANS, a clan/group that consists of a series of "tribes" located all over GHANA-as well as ppl from a host of other AFREE-KAN countries. I also went to stay in KUMASE (the home of the famous Asante people-a group belonging to the Akans also) at the traditional vodun shrine of Nana Abass for 1 wk.Let me say that the whole experience was the best time of my life-and I can't wait 2 do it again . I was also in NIGERIA (Edo State) 4 1 mo. b4 travelling 2 GHANA however some Nigerian foods are very complicated to prepare and explaining them on the net will take very long.

Get ur pen and paper handy or print this out & try it 4 urself.
Me-ko she-to is a kind of side dish eaten w/ boiled plaintain &/or yams usually,it is very very good!!

The things u will need are 1 -or 2 if u wish/ tomatoes, 1 spanish onion (or fairly big regular onion) and a red scotch bonnet or J' can pepper (not yt ppl pepper/OUR type that u find at caribbean grocery stores).

ok /now you have 2 choices = #1-you can either finely chop up all the ingredients and put it in the blender (put 2 grind for a few mins.), then u will have ur ready made me-ko she-to.
Pour it into your serving bowl (it should serve 2 ppl)-it must be very pureed and smooth without any notice of chopped up pieces of onion, tomato or pepper.

Put to boil your medium-ripe plaintains/for 2 ppl- (2 each will be sufficient depending on ur appetite,mek sure da plaintains u choose are not very soft/overripe ones/don't boil very long & boil dem wit the skin on) in some wata in a pot, check wit a fork to see when they are ready.It should not take more than 15 mins. max to cook the plaintain/remember u want ur plaintains 2b cooked but not soft at all or else u will not enjoy it with the she-to.

When they are cooked drain da wata,turn off the stove & peel off the skin of the plaintains wit a fork if it's too hot wit ur hand/follow da same method 4 yams-but trus me da plaintain mo sweeta. You will now put the plaintain(s) in a separate plate, cut them each in half(lengthwise),and use the plaintain(or yams) wit ur right hand to scoop up the she-to (or sauce).
This is good 4 vegans or those tryin to cut down on meat/chicken etc. It's also a quick meal to prepare when ur tired from work or wit da children and u want someting fast/oh yeah... some ppl also fry fish on da side and eat wit it 2, so try dat if u want/wit da plaintain or yams.

However if u want to do it the traditional GHANAIAN way =/#2-u will need a small mortar and pestle!put a sm. pot on da stove & set it on HIGH wit jus a lil' wata-to the mid area of the pot. Let da wata start to steam up, but not boil yet, do not chop anything up.Simply put a lil' cut in the middle of the onion and put it in the pot to boil up, add in the tomato(es) and cut it in the middle on both sides,add the red j'can pepper too.You will have to wait a few mins. 4 ur onion, tomato(es) and pepper 2 become soft (maybe u may want 2 use 1/2 a pepper cause a whole 1 might b 2 hot).
Pour out da wata and put all into a strainer for da meantime.Prepare ur mortar and pestle, u will have to grind all ingredients to a fine puree so that they will become completely indistinguishable!! (how's dat 4 exercise??).It is best 4 u to sit on a stool or very low on a small chair.

Place the mortar in front of u with ur legs separated on each side(if u have 2 hold it, do so with ur left hand) and use ur right hand for the pestle to grind the ingredients.
There is a bowl-like mortar made of clay that they use in GHANA that they call a-san-ka/ it can be found at most GHANAIAN stores.I am sure that is the proper pronunciation of it (the spelling i am not sure about...).
If u have a GHANAIAN store in ur specific neighbourhood they may have it for sale(over here i bought one for $20 cdn.).So, as I said, it has to be pureed to a very fine degree, pour it into a bowl and serve wit ur boiled plaintain.
Scoop it up wit ur right hand on da plaintain & enjoy!! If u are feeding more dan 2 ppl u need to increase the # of ingredients( instead if 1 tomato use 4 ,etc.).
Simple & easy, but very sweet.In GHANA this is usually eaten mid-day= 12 p.m.-4 p.m. max.


Next we have another more SIMPLE recipe/Ke-le-we-le(sorry, may be the wrong spelling again-but i hope u get the drift of the pronunciation).
This is just fried plaintain wit a lil' spice to it(HEY! i luv my plaintain aigt?).Peel off the skin of a fairly ripe plaintain(again we don't want any that is too soft)-cut sideways, then cut again in2 sm.cubes.Place in a sm. plastic bowl or mixing bowl.Take out ur favrite spices (i use powdered garlic,blk ppr &/or chili ppr-i never use salt on plaintain) & sprinkle over the cut-up plantains.
Cover the bowl completely and shake it up so that spices will b well dispersed on all pieces of plaintains.
Put a frying pan on MED heat and wait....then place oil (i like xtra virgin olive oil 4 all cooking & frying 2) in pan & allow it 2 heat up 1st, when u feel it's hot enuff place "spiced plaintain" and fry on both sides until med.brown.This meal is usually eaten in GHANA around late am(10-11 a.m.)/midday. (i eat it 4 breakfast wit brwn bread).
Now enjoy good food-GHANAIAN STYLE!!

If y'all have any difficulty wit the recipes talk 2 me & I hope i'll be able 2 help u out.


ASHE...LET THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN....
SISTAH KENTAKE.