Ghanaian Food

Fufu with lightsoup

        Ghanaian food is generally simple, but plentiful in flavor. Meals tend to be very starchy and heavy on the spices.  The majority of meals consist of thick, well-seasoned stews, usually accompanied by such staple foods as rice or boiled yams.
       A few of the staple foods are Fufu, Banku, Jollof rice, Waakye, Kenkey, and Red Red.  Fufu is made of cassava and plaintain. It is pounded with a huge wooden mortar and pestle into a big ball, which is called fufu.  Banku is made similarly, however it is made of fermented corn dough and cassava dough.  It tastes more sour and less sweet than fufu.  Fufu and banku are eaten with your hand (the right of course, never the left).  At vegetable stands you will often find kenkey which is fermented corn dough wrapped in corn or plantain leaves.  Jollof rice is a spicy tomato flavored rice.  Rice and beans, waakye, are a more healthy, less spicy option in Ghana.  One of my favorites is red red, which is very well spiced beans with fried plantains.  Other foods that can be found at many street vendors are fried rice and egg sandwiches.  Tons of fresh fruit can be found everywhere- paw paw (papaya), pineapple, oranges (which are green) and bananas.
        A meal from a street vendor generally costs about 1 Ghana cedi, which is about 70 cents in the US.  When ordering, you must say the amount in terms of cost - 50 pesewas red red,  20 pesewas plantain. 
        Due to poor water treatment, bottled water is a must.  A less expensive way of getting water is through water sachets, which are only 5 pesewas (a few pennies) for a half liter bag. 

A frequented lunch spot of mine

Red Red

Palava stew with boiled yam and fried plaintain

Tilapia

          For dessert, if kelewele (fried plaintains) is not sufficient, you will not have to look far to find some delicious doughnuts or a FanIce product.  There are plenty of guys honking their horns as they push a cart full of FanYogo and FanIce.  On a very hot day, there is nothing better than tearing the corner off of one of those bags and indulging in something reminiscent of a milkshake, definitely worth 40 pesewas. 

Doughnuts

FaniIce!