Biting into a fried sweet Potato wedge dipped in a spicy Salsa sauce, with a bite off a fatty crispy fried Turkey tail is one of the Ghanaian versions of fast food.
This dish was a staple amongst the various lunches I enjoyed with my friends during my A'level days. Memories!
Inspired by my teenage years and the left over smoky Salsa sauce , I decided to accompany my fried sweet Potatoes with Tilapia instead.
Find the smoky Salsa recipe here
There are various types of sweet Potatoes, including the Purple , Orange and White flesh types.
Ingredients
1 large descaled and gutted Tilapia
Half a teaspoon of salt
20g of grated fresh Ginger
1 litre of Vegetable oil
100g of peeled sweet Potatoes cut into wedges
200g of the Smoky Salsa sauce
Method
Watch how to make this easy for follow dish on my YouTube channel, ‘Ndudu by Fafa’. Don’t forget to subscribe, try the recipe, leave a comment with your feedback and share with family and friends.
All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.
Fresh fish soup is one of the popular dishes in Ghana and it’s enjoyed with a steamed fermented Corn dumpling, called Banku or Amorkple.
This is an equally easy to follow recipe, which produces a flavour packed soup. This soup works perfectly in this cold weather and a must try for your Autumn or Winter dishes.
This recipe used Tilapia fish, however you can use any Fish of your choosing that’s firm. Try using Sea bass, Sea Bream, Red snapper etc. I love to hear your feedback when you do try the recipe. There’s a tutorial video on how to make this soup on my YouTube channel. Don’t forget to subscribe and share.
Ingredients
1 large cleaned & gutted Tilapia cut into chunks
25g of Tomato paste
150g of blended fresh Tomatoes
2 tablespoonfuls of Vegetable oil
600ml of Fish stock
10 Pettie Belle chillies or Kpakposhito
1 large sliced Onion
6 Basil leaves (Optional)
Salt to taste
Ginger Blend
30g of peeled Ginger
1 large Onion
1 Habanero chilli
1 shrimp stock cube (optional)
1 teaspoonful of Aniseed or Fennel
Method
Blend the Ginger, Onion, Habanero chilli, stock cube and Aniseed to a smooth paste.
Marinade the Tilapia in half of the Ginger blend and set aside.
Place a saucepan on a medium heat and add the oil.
Add the remaining Ginger blend and fry for about 2 minutes on a low heat.
Add the Tomato paste and fry gently for 3 minutes, ensuring you stir consistently
Tip
Best to blend fresh Tomatoes, Garlic and Onion into a smooth paste.
Cook it down till you have a double cream consistency.
Reserve the cooked Tomato in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze it till a recipe requires it.
Add 150g of your pre cooked Tomato mixture to your spiced Tomato paste mixture.
Cook the mixture for about 2-3 minutes
Add the marinated Tilapia to the Tomato mixture and mix well.
Cook the mixture for about a minute.
Add your Fish stock or water and mix well.
Cook for about 7-8 minutes
Add your Pettie Belle Chillies or Kpakposhito and sliced Onions.
Add salt to taste (not more than 1 levelled teaspoon of salt)
Cook for about 3 minutes.
TIP
You can thicken your soup by adding blended cooked Onions.
Alternatively you can add a teaspoon of Gari as a thickener or flour
If you’re using flour, make a roux first (add the flour to the oil, then the Ginger blend and fry for 2 minutes)
This will take the raw flavour of the flour out of your dish)
Just when your soup is almost ready add your Basil leaves ( I used Greek Basil) which is more scented.
Your soup is ready! Enjoy this with with Amorkple or some crusty bread.
Watch the video on how to make this dish below;
Don’t forget to like the video, try the recipe, leave a comment with your feedback and share with your family and friends. Video for the Amorkple recipe
Inspired by the Nigerian native Jollof rice, I decided to create this recipe with my own twist. No sooner had I uploaded the video, did I receive comments like
‘OMG, why didn’t I ever think of this’?
‘I can’t wait to try this’!
In Ghana, rice and Kontomire stew are cooked separately and enjoyed together; Where as in Nigeria it’s cooked together and named Iwuk Edese (native Jollof rice)dish which is synonymous with the Efik people of the South Eastern part of Nigeria.
The inclusion of Koobi gives the dish an umami taste coupled with the smokiness of the fish (if using smoked fish).
Steaming the salted Fish in water, Onion and chillies gives the broth and aromatic taste, which works perfectly with this dish.
I grilled my own Makerel for this recipe but you can use smoked Mackerel for this recipe or any smoked fish of your choosing.
Be warned, this is one flavour packed rice that you’ll come back for more.
Here are the list of ingredients for this recipe ;
INGREDIENTS
200g of chopped Kontomire leaves or Spinach
20ml of Zomi or Palm oil
1 large Onion
10 Kpakposhito or 1 Habanero chilli
30g of salted Fish or Koobi
1 large smoked Mackerel
30g of a Ginger, Onion & Aniseed blend
1 tspn of Chilli powder (if not using Habanero chilli)
Fermented Corn meal porridge, popularly referred to as 'Koko' or 'Kooko' in Ghana, is the quickest gluten free porridge to enjoy at breakfast.
This recipe has the chaff removed for a silky smooth finish. Alternatively prepare the porridge without separating the chaff, which then gives the porridge its fibre content.
Even though this is a straight forward recipe, it's easy to end up with a lumpy porridge.
The only way to prevent a lumpy porridge is to constantly stir the mixture till it's cooked. Interestingly enough there's something gratifying from enjoying a bowl of hot Koko after dinner. The texture and beautiful taste derived from adding roasted Peanuts or Groundnuts to the porridge makes it addictive. My Uncle enjoys a bowl of this porridge before he goes to bed every day; it's his version of a 'warm milk'.
The level of consistency of the porridge depends on your personal preference. If you wish for a thicker consistency, then use less water and for a lighter version, you add a bit more water. You can also choose to add milk to your porridge; if so, use 25ml less of water for this recipe and replace it with 25 ml of milk.
I've served this Porridge with Bofrot/Boflot/Doughnuts which is also a popular pairing in Ghana. Find recipes for both the wet and dry Ghanaian doughnuts on my blog and YouTube channel 'Ndudu by Fafa'.
Ingredients
60g of fermented milled Corn meal
250ml of water
2 Grains of Selim (Hwentia) optional
1 tablespoonful of Sugar
Quarter of a teaspoon of salt
Method
Place the corn meal and water into a bowl. Mix till well combined.
Using a colander and another bowl, strain the corn juice off its chaff. Repeat the process of straining till you have a smooth juice.
Pour the smooth corn juice into a saucepan, add the salt and place on a medium heat.
Using a wooden spatula, continue to stir the corn juice till you have a thick double cream consistency.
Tip
It's imperative to consistently stir the mixture, till its cooked. This is to prevent a lumpy porridge.
Add the Grains of Selim and Sugar to the porridge and continue to stir for another minute.
Serve whilst hot , (discarding the Grains of Selim) with freshly made doughnut for that traditional Ghanaian breakfast or roasted Peanuts.
Watch how to make the Corn meal porridge below;
Find more inspiring recipes on my YouTube channel,'Ndudu by Fafa' like the wet version of the popular Ghanaian doughnut and don't forget to subscribe.
All photos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.
After baking and filming my Sugar bread recipe, I had to schedule in my weekly lunches for work.
I decided to grab a few items from my local grocer. I bought a whole Chicken, a couple of Salmom fillets and Pork ribs.
I started to create an aromatic marinade and decided to include a few Alligator Peppers, to my blend. A quick smell and taste of my marinade made me smile (cause I realised I had created a unique flavour).
I quickly marinated my Chicken and Pork ribs in my newly created flavour. I placed the marinated meat in the fridge to continue cooking the next day.
I was exhausted and decided to to take rest. A notification alert from my phone (asking for a Gari Fortor recipe) had me smiling the next day.
I knew, I had just about enough Gari for the recipe. The idea that I could serve the Gari fortor alongside the grilled Chicken, had my taste buds tingling.
This is an easy to follow recipe and a must try.
Tip
Best to marinade your meat or poultry for a minimum of 3hrs or better still overnight in the fridge.
Avoid adding salt when marinating (as the Salt absorbs moisture).
Ingredients
20g of peeled Ginger
1 large Onion
1 Habanero chilli
1 tablespoonful of Olive oil
1 levelled teaspoon of Aniseed
2 Star anise
1 levelled teaspoon of Alligator peppers
3 cloves of Garlic
Juice of 1 Lemon or Lime
1 tablespoonful of Paprika
Half a teaspoon of freshly milled black peppercorns
Half a teaspoon of salt
1 packet of Chicken pieces (Preferably Drumsticks and Thighs)
Method;
Blend the Ginger, Onion, Star Anise, Alligator peppers, Garlic and Habanero chilli into a smooth paste.
Add the spice blend to the Chicken and Paprika. Massage the spice blend into the Chicken pieces and marinade in the fridge for a minimum of 3 hrs or better still overnight.
When ready to cook the Chicken, remove the Chicken from the fridge and pre heat your grill to 180*c
Add salt and Olive oil to the marinated Chicken and mix till well combined.
Grill your Chicken for 35 minutes.
Watch more on my YouTube channel 'Ndudu by Fafa' and find out what I served this grilled Chicken with?
Don't forget to like the video, subscribe, comment and share.
All photos, videos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.
No sooner had I posted the picture of the Gari Fortor on my social media, did comments of 'when will the recipe be up on YouTube'? I had to quickly edit the video and uploaded it last night.
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. It's one popular staple in West Africa due to its quick nature of preparation.
Gari fortor is basically Gari mixed with a flavour packed Tomato based sauce and served alongside Waakye or on its own with ones favourite protein.
Watch how to cook the perfect Waakye on my YouTube channel
HOW TO COOK THE PERFECT WAAKYE
This is a quick recipe to make and the flavour comes from the sauce. It's imperative the sauce is packed with flavours.
Watch how to make the smoky Salsa sauce , which was used for this recipe;
Ingredients
170g of the smoky Salsa sauce
1 large Onion
4 tablespoonful of cold Water
1 tablespoon of Vegetable oil or flavoured oil from the Smoky Salsa sauce
250g of Gari
Method:
Watch how to make this decadent and equally delicious Gari Fortor below;
Don't forget to like the video if you enjoyed it, try the recipe and leave a comment with your feedback. I'll be equally grateful if you can share the video amongst your friends and family.
All photos, videos and recipes are by the owner of this blog.
