HOW I PREPARE THE TOGOLESE DZONGOLI (A steamed Corn and Beans dumpling)

Chancing upon this Togolese recipe has placed a permanent smile on my face. What particularly piqued my interest was the different ways and varieties in preparing this dish. Some recipes required the roasting of the corn flour, others didn’t, the stocks used varied from plain water to a tomato based one and in my case a smoky Fish version.

This was my second attempt at this recipe and in both situations it worked out perfectly. 

On one occasion I enjoyed with some homemade Chilli sauce and Grilled Chicken.

My favourite was when I paired it with my Peanut Butter soup.

Just imagine bitting into a smoky,Fishy Corn & Beans dumpling with a silky smooth Peanut Butter soup.

Just try it and thank me later.

Today I’m serving mine with a slow cooked Lamb Shanks.

 

INGREDIENTS 

150g of Black Eyed Beans or any Beans

350g of Corn flour or Corn meal

500ml of smoked Fish stock or your preferred stock

3 tablespoonfuls of Coconut oil

Salt to taste

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this classic Gluten free Togolese dish below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe and leave comments with your feedback.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

THE AMAZING WEST AFRICAN PUDDING RECIPE - GLUTEN FREE

During one of our conversations about life, Mum revealed her favourite childhood pudding that her Dad (Grandpa) made for the family particularly after they returned from the farm. 

I was intrigued because that was the first time of hearing of it and moreover from her description it meant I had to taste this.

I quickly got the 3 main ingredients required for the recipe and made it on a day that Mum and I were hosting family members from Togo.

The stories and fondness associated with this pudding meant I had to share this recipe. 

A must try recipe! It’s now my favourite pudding and guess what I made another version coming up next.

Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel folks for more creative recipes.

INGREDIENTS 

200g of raw Peanuts soaked for a minimum of 2 hrs

300g of fresh Corn kernels 

1 litre of water 

1 large ripened Papaya or PawPaw

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this amazing healthy pudding recipe that can be enjoyed hot or cold below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe and share.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

STUFFED YAM RECIPE (BEST WAY TO USE YOUR LEFTOVER YAM)

Imagine bitting into a crunchy and fluffy Yam cake stuffed with gooey Mozzarella.

 What is ‘Yam’ , you might ask?

'Yam', is a tuberous root vegetable, which is synonymous but not exclusive to Africa. There are over 600 varieties, of which 95% are cultivated in Africa. 

In parts of America and Canada 'sweet potatoes' are referred to as 'Yams' , however that's not the case , as the similarity ends with both been a tuberous root vegetable and cooked the same way; they differ in taste and texture.

INGREDIENTS

200g of boiled Yam (best to use your left over Yam)

30g of melted butter

150g of sliced Mozzarella

A pinch of freshly grated Nutmeg

1 teaspoonful of Corn starch or flour 

TO SERVE 

Be adventurous and serve this with your favourite stew including the popular Egg stew below;

METHOD

Watch how to create this amazing Yam recipe stuffed with Mozzarella below;

Don’t forget to try the recipe, leave comments with your feedback and share. All photos, videos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.

THE TASTIEST WEST AFRICAN BEANS YOU NEED TO TRY

Bambara nuts also known as Bambara beans, Congo Goober,

Earth Pea, Hog Peanut or Ground Bean originates from West Africa by the Bambara people of southern Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Senegal. Bambara beans are also cultivated in the southern part of Africa and can be used in making dips and beverages.

When cooked Bamabara Beans has a creamier and nutty taste in comparison to any other beans. It’s a must try ingredient and recipe which is readily available in most African grocers. A perfect reason to visit and support their business. 

If you own an African grocer in the diaspora please leave comments below.

Also leave comments below on how you call Bambara beans in your local dialect.

INGREDIENTS 

250g of Bambara nuts or beans (readily available in most African grocers)

3 litres of water (use 1.5 litres to simmer the beans and discard, as shown in the recipe video)

4 Bay leaves

5 cloves

4 whole dried red chillies (you can use any fresh chillies you have available)

4 whole African nutmegs (substitute by using a pinch of grated Nutmeg)

30g of sliced fresh Ginger

1 tablespoonful of Jaggery or Brown sugar

5 Grains of Selim (Hwentia)

4 tablespoonfuls of Organic Cold presses Coconut oil 

Optional 10g of Basil for garnishing

Salt and Pepper to taste 

METHOD 

This is best served with Tatale (Ripened Plantain pancake). Traditional recipe coming up next.

Watch how to prepare this incredible West African Vegetarian dish below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave comments with your feedback and share. All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

HOW TO COOK THE BEST GARDEN EGG STEW

This dish is inspired by both the traditional Ghanaian Abom and Middle Eastern Baba Ganoush recipe. Fusing both cultures and methods of cooking gives this dish an incredible flavour. Flavour that a traditional Garden Egg Stew gives and more.

Why not try the recipe and leave your comments below with your experience?

 ‘I made this for dinner today and it tasted so good’ @akua7649 on my Instagram page ‘Ndudu by Fafa’

INGREDIENTS 

450g of Garden Eggs

3 large Onions 

2 large Tomatoes 

1 ladle of Zomi or Palm oil

400g of Goat Meat

50g of salted Fish (Kobi) or salted Anchovies 

150g of Mushrooms 

50g of roasted Peanuts 

30g of Spring Onions

1 teaspoonful of smoked Paprika 

2 Habanero Chillies/ 6 Kasoa Peppers/ 10 Pettie Belle Chillies (Kpakposhito)

450ml of water

Salt to taste

MARINADE 

1 teaspoonful of Aniseed 

30g of Ginger

1 large Onion

2 cloves of Garlic

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this incredible dish below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave comments with your feedback and share.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

TASTIEST GOAT MEAT & TILAPIA OKRO SOUP

How many Okra recipes and varied methods of cooking are there? Find out by watching the video at the bottom of this post.

INGREDIENTS 

1kg of Goat Meat

2kg of cleaned and gutted Tilapia

3 Habanero Chilli

1kg of Chopped Okra

4 tablespoonful of Coconut oil

20g of Tomato purée 

2 large Onions

Half a teaspoon of Bicarbonate Soda

1 litre Water

100g of Prawns (Optional)

Salt to taste

SPICE BLEND 

30g of Ginger

1large Onion

1 teaspoonful of Aniseed 

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this creative and equally delicious recipe below;

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All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

YAAKE YAAKE RECIPE

Yaake Yaake is a gluten free steamed pudding made out of Cassava and it’s popular amongst the Ewes of Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo.

The authentic recipe does require the usage of Cassava only, however I prefer to add a little bit of Corn flour for that fluffy texture. The recipe on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’ covers both recipes. List of ingredients and measurements are mentioned below;

INGREDIENTS 

1 large peeled  Cassava soaked overnight in water (this gets rid off any toxins present in Cassava)

1 tablespoonful of Corn flour

Half a teaspoon of Salt

1 litre of Water

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this Gluten Free steamed pudding below;

Enjoy with your preferred stew or soup. Best served with the spicy Ghanaian Salsa and popular tiny fried  fish known as ‘One Mouth Thousand’.

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe and leave comments with your feedback.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

KWAHU MOUNTAIN LIGHT SOUP RECIPE

One of Ghana’s best kept secret is this authentic complex flavoured soup, which combines 3 distinct flavours together perfectly. The soup (which is synonymous to the Kwahu tribe of the Eastern part of Ghana) has a perfect infusion of bitterness, sweetness and smokiness due to the inclusion of Lima beans (Adua), Tomatoes, Onions and Smoked Fish.

Best way to describe the soup is for you to prepare and taste it.

It’s a must try.

This soup can be enjoyed with any carbohydrates of your choosing, however I enjoyed mine with Green Banana Fufu (thanks to Tina Atiemo) for the suggestion 😘.

If you would like me to share the Green Banana Fufu recipe, please leave comments below 😘

INGREDIENTS 

50g of Lima Beans or Butter Beans (locally known as Adua)

6 medium sized Garden Eggs

2 large Onions

3 large smoked Tilapia or any Smoked Fish of your choosing 

300g of steamed Beef (optional)

10-15 Green Chillies (the amount of Chillies you use should be to your personal preference)

3 medium sized Tomatoes 

80g of Tomato paste or purée 

3 litres of water

10 Basil leaves (Akuko Mesa, Koklo Gbe)

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this complex flavour packed soup below on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’.

Don’t forget to subscribe, like the videos and share.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

FRESH PLANTAIN FUFU RECIPE

Plantains are rich in fibre (which is good for your digestive system), Potassium, ( which regulates your heart beat and helps your muscles to work effectively) Vitamin A (which is good for eyes), Vitamin C (helps boost your immune system) to mention but a few. Plantains are similar in calories to Potatoes, however they contain more nutrients to Potatoes. 



Try switching your Potatoes to Plantains the next time you visit your local grocer. Plantains can be enjoyed when unripened (Green), ripened (when it's Yellow) and Over ripened (when it turns black). 
This recipe used the unripened Green Plantain which served with any soup of your choice. 

INGREDIENTS

2 Green peeled and cubed Plantains

150ml of Water

UTENSILS

A very good blender like a Vitamix.

A flat wooden ladle

Heavy bottomed saucepan 

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare the fresh Plantain Fufu recipe below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, like the video, leave a comment with your feedback and share with your family and friends.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

TASTIEST GARI PINON RECIPE

Gari is made out of  grated Cassava that's fermented and roasted. Gari has a Couscous consistency and most West Africans use it just as you would Couscous and more. 

Gari can be enjoyed both in a savoury or sweet way. 

'Gari Piñon', is basically Gari cooked in a hot and perfectly spiced Tomato broth. This is a popular dish in Togo, Benin and the Ewe's of Ghana. Gari Pinon has a soft and light texture which is packed with flavours and can be enjoyed with your favourite Meat, Fish or Poultry.

Whenever I try to recreate a recipe, I do so with the knowledge that food is Art. Backed with this view, I try to incorporate new textures, flavours and colours to achieve an artistic view. This reflects in the type of recipes I make and in the pictures I take. 

With this Gari Piñon recipe I used my Chicken stew recipe as the base for my broth and added finely diced Peppers for colour and added crunch. 

Watch how to make the Chicken stew below;

For this recipe you will need;

300g of Chicken stew. Use 200g for the broth and leave 100g with the Chicken. Best to shred the Chicken in the remaining stew for garnishing and serving. 

150g of Gari or try using CousCous.

150g of finely diced mixed Peppers. (Red, Green and Yellow).

1 finely diced medium Onion

Salt to taste

Watch how to create this recipe on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’, below;

Don’t forget to subscribe, like the video, try the recipe, comment and share with family and friends.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog.

ADEME DESSI OR DETCHI (MOLOKHAI SOUP) RECIPE

‘Thank you Mama, I appreciate you a lot’, as I ended the call with my Mum.  I asked my Mum if she could get a few bags of Ademe or Molokhia leaves, since a friend was visiting London.

Mum advised, she’ll have them vacuum packed to protect its freshness and strict instructions on cooking them immediately I receive them. Mum handed the bag of food items with their certificates to my friend an hour before take off and sent a text to say it was on its way to me.

After 7 hours, I had a call from my friend to say she’d arrived. I arranged for a Taxi to pick the items up to my house and I started cooking straight away.

Ademe or Molokhia leaves are very nutritious and have a high Iron content. It’s great for your digestive system and bloating due to the mucilaginous structure of the plant. 

During my childhood, we were at the market at dawn to get the freshest of ingredients. Ademe was one of the vegetables Mum needed as fresh as possible. She insisted on the small like looking ones (which I believe were the Organic ones) and were the tastiest. Immediately we got home, we had to pick the stalks from the leaves, which was time consuming, considering how small they were. During the process of picking, which involved a few people, we had our chats including how we’re looking forward to the dish.

Mum always had specific ladies she bought specific ingredients from, with clear instructions and the Ademe had to be less than 12 hours old from picking when she purchased it. 

I couldn’t understand her fuss and questioned what difference it made? On our next visit, Mum purchased both the small and large Ademe leaves. She cooked the large leaves separately from the small leaves and left some of the small leaves in the fridge for 3 days. 

I loved the taste of the small leaves as they were intense with flavours in comparison to the large leaves.

After 3 days in the fridge the remaining uncooked leaves looked different. The stalks and leaves didn’t have their fresh green colour, instead they had a deeper green colour with a few leaves turning black and not smelling particularly nice.

I picked the bad leaves from the rest and noticed the stalks were harder. I learnt a valuable lesson that day and vowed to always cook my leaves within 36 hrs of picking.

It’s almost impossible to get these fresh leaves here in London.  What’s readily available are the frozen ones, which are okay but can’t beat the taste of the small fresh leafy type.

I had a big smile on my face as I knew Christmas came in early for me, because this is my favourite dish in the whole wide world.

Ademe or Molokhia leaves dates back to 5000BC , where it was and still is consumed by Egyptians and named as the ‘food for Gods’, due to its high nutritional content. Subsequently the leaves have been enjoyed in Sudan, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria , Sierra Leone and the Middle East. The Ewe tribe of Ghana  and Togolese do make Ademe Detchi or Dessi with the leaves and the Northerners of Ghana do make Tuo Zaafi with the leaves.

Nigerians also use it to prepare their soup called  Ewedu.

Traditionally Smoked Or Grilled deboned Mackerel is used alongside Crabs and Prawns for this soup. I used grilled Tilapia and Barracuda instead, because that’s what I had available. 

If you’re using the frozen leaves, defrost it naturally and it should be the last thing you add to your stock. Cook it for 4 minutes and no longer to keep the green colour of the leaves.

INGREDIENTS 

1kg of picked fresh Ademe / Molokhia leaves 

1kg of Smoked or Grilled Tilapia or Mackerel 

500g of Smoked Barracuda (Known as Lizzy)

300g of fresh Crabs

300g of fresh Prawns

700ml of Water

40g of blended Ginger, Onion, Aniseed and Garlic

2 large sliced Onions

1 Habanero chilli or 10 green Ghanaian chillies

Optional Shrimp stock cube

1 teaspoon of Bicarbonate Soda or Akaun

Salt to taste

METHOD 

Watch how to prepare this dish below and don’t forget to like the video😘

Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave comments with your feedback and share with your family and friends.

All photos, recipes and videos are by the owner of this blog. 

GHANAIAN EGG STEW WITH BOILED YAM

Ingredients

4 Free range or Organic eggs

1 large Onion

Pinch of Mace or ground Nutmeg

20g of peeled fresh Ginger

1 tablespoon of Cumin seeds

2 Green chillies

50g of Tomato paste

400g of blended Plum tomatoes

1 tablespoonful of Coconut oil

20g of chopped Coriander/Parsley/Basil

30g of chopped Spring Onions.

400g of peeled and sliced Yam

1 litre of water

1 teaspoonful of salt

METHOD;

Watch the video on how to prepare this classic Ghanaian dish. Don't forget to subscribe, like the video, try the recipe and share.

All videos, photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.

PLANTAIN SPONGE CAKE IN A MUG RECIPE

Over ripened Plantains are usually used to make Tatale (spicy and savoury pancake),a savoury Plantain cake known as Ofam in Ghana and Kaklo a savoury Plantain doughnut. I decided to create something sweet this time, since most Ghanaian recipes lack variant pudding choices. Anyway, since this was an experiment (that worked), I decided to microwave it instead of baking, as I wanted to get the right texture and then proceed to bake. However the texture was perfect and I decided to share the recipe. I hope you enjoy the recipe. I'll love to hear your comments, as it encourages me and helps me develop. Don't forget to share and subscribe. 

 

Ingredients

80g of melted butter 

80g of Self raising flour (preferably the self raising sponge flour, which is finer in texture and available in Sainsburys)

I tablespoonful of Sugar (optional)

Juice of 1 Passion fruit or 20ml of milk

1 free range or Organic Eggs

1 over ripened Plantain 

1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract or half a teaspoon of grated Nutmeg 

Salt to taste

 

Method 

Preheat your Oven to 180*c

Place the egg, over ripened Plantain and Vanilla extract or Nutmeg in a bowl.

 

Using a hand blender, blend everything into a smooth consistency.

Add the Sugar, Salt , Milk or Passion fruit juice and blend together.

 

Blend till smooth and add the self raising sponge flour. 

 

Gently mix the flour into the mixture til well combined. 

Microwave 

Grease a mug and fill it half way with the sponge mixture. Microwave for 1.5-2 minutes, until puffed up and cooked through when you insert a skewer. 

Tip

Microwaving the mixture for a few seconds more could dry the cake, hence microwave it for 30 seconds at a time till cooked

Oven

Preheat your oven to 180*c

Butter your 8x3cm muffin and pour in the cake mixture. Bake for 15-18 minutes. Insert a skewer in the middle of the cake and if it comes out clean its cooked.  

Enjoy this recipe warm with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream. 

Find more more inspiring recipes, like this Guinea Fowl fried rice on my YouTube channel, 'Ndudu by Fafa'. Don't forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave a comment and share.  

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 

GHANAIAN FRIED CHICKEN

Enjoy this classic Ghanaian dish with Jollof rice, on its own, with some chips and polished with a glass of un-oaked Chablis or a chilled glass of Palm wine. 

Find out why this is a popular and favourite dish amongst Ghanaians by watching the recipe on my YouTube channel, 'Ndudu by Fafa'. 

Don't  forget to subscribe, try the recipe , leave your comments and share. 

 

Ingredients 

4 pieces of Chicken 

30g of fresh Ginger

3 cloves of Garlic

1 Habanero chilli or 10 Pettie Belle chillies

3 pods of Grains of Selim or Hwentia

1 large Onion

1 Chicken stock cube

450ml of Oil

1 levelled teaspoon of salt

 

Method 

Blend the Ginger, Onion, Chilli and  Stock together into a smooth paste

Marinade the Chicken in the Ginger blend for a minimum of an hour

Transfer the marinated Chicken and juice into a saucepan and steam on a low heat for 10 minutes 

Add the Grains of Selim and steam for another 10 minutes 

Add salt to taste and cook for another minute.

Remove the Chicken pieces from the stock into a strainer. This will dry the surface of the Chicken.  

Place a Wok or Saucepan on a medium and add the oil.

Heat the oil for 4 minutes.

Carefully add the Chicken pieces and increase the heat.

Fry the Chicken pieces till its browned. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes. 

Once browned remove the Chicken from the oil into a strainer (to get rid of any excess oil).

Serve immediately with your Jollof rice or use it for a tomato stew to enjoy with Plantain, Kenkey, Banku, Yam etc.

You can also serve it with pan fried crunchy  Peppers and Onions mix. 

Watch the video on how to make this recipe on my YouTube channel, 'Ndudu by Fafa'. Don't forget to subscribe and share.

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.

GARI PIÑON RECIPE

'Gari Piñon', is basically Gari cooked in a hot stock and mixed with a spicy Tomato stew. This is a popular dish in both Togo and Benin, in West Africa. It was an absolute favourite in my household (thanks to Mum).

Traditionally Meat, Tomatoes, Onions , Stock cube and  Pepper are used in its preparation.

 

I decided to make this quick dish whilst   planting my new herbs in my garden (I'll talk about the herbs another time). 

If you follow me on Instagram you'ld have seen a video of me making this dish. 

 

Gari is to a West African as Couscous is to a Nothern African. Gari is made from fermented grated Cassava, which is then fried till dry. Gari is used in many ways  across West Africa including 'Gari Soakings', Gari Fortor' 'Eba' a perfect addittion to Red Red to mention but a few. 

I've adapted the recipe to my preference by using Fish, however you can use your preferred meat and it's stock in making the traditional version. If you're using meat you need to cook it till it's tender (best to use the tougher cuts of meat for this recipe).

 

It's imperative to use Tomato stew that was prepared over 24hrs ago. I find the flavours of the stew infuse better, a day after cooking. Try it! Try my Tomato stew recipe...

This is a cost effective and quick dish to make. Let's start cooking...

 

Ingredients 

200g of Gari

2 large chopped Red Onions

450g of Tomato stew

400g of grilled and flaked Sea bream/ Tilapia/ Red Snapper /Wild Seabass

200ml of Fish stock

20g of chopped Coriander 

Salt to taste

 

Method

Warm up 350g of the Tomato stew in a saucepan and add the chopped Onions and flaked Fish. 

Fry gently for 5 minutes and add the Gari.

Mix everything together till well combined. Add the fish stock and salt.

Continue to stir till well combined.

Cook gently for 5 minutes until you have a soft and pliable texture.

Take the Gari Piñon off the heat,  add the chopped Coriander and stir till well combined. 

Serve immediately with steamed Vegetables and the remaining stew.

 

Enjoy!

All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog. 
Find more inspiring recipes on my Youtube channel 'Ndudu by Fafa'.