Recipes from Ghana

Assalamu alikeum

islamic sista, nigerian and ghanian food is has some simlarties. Actually all of west africa in fact. I've had friends from those regions and much of the food i tatsed were simalar but they all had their own distinct version of it.

Amani,

I wouls say two ghanian dish you should definatly try to cook. One is Jollof rice. That is like standard to eat and its really yummy too. They love their spices in the food as well, so make sure to add some. It gives it that extra zing. The other is Ashanti Chicken. If you've done a roast chicken before, it wont be too difficult to do this chicken dish. Its lovely to eat and you should be able to find the ingridents in America. I hope this helps inshallah and that your dinner is a success!

Jollof Rice

There are loads of different variations of Jollof Rice but the most common basic ingredients are: rice, tomatoes and tomato paste, onion, salt, and red pepper. Beyond that, nearly any kind of meat, fish, vegetable, or spice can be added. feel free to add or take away some of the ingriedents. You dont have to add everything on the list below.

Ingredients

oil for frying
one chicken (and/or a pound or two of stew meat), chopped into bite-sized pieces
one or two onions, finely chopped
salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper (to taste)
Flavoring add-ins (to taste)
o chile pepper, chopped
o garlic
o thyme
o bay leaf
o ginger
o cinnamon
o curry powder
two cups chicken broth or chicken stock, or beef broth or beef stock (or Maggi� cubes and water)
two or three ripe tomatoes, chopped

Vegetable add-ins
o sweet green pepper (or bell pepper), chopped
o string beans or green beans
o green peas
o carrots, chopped
o cabbage, chopped

four cups rice
one small can tomato paste

Meat add-ins (optional)
o shrimp or prawns (or dried shrimp or dried prawns)
Garnishes
o fresh parsley, chopped
o cilantro, chopped
o lettuce, shredded
o hard-boiled egg, sliced

Method

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large skillet. Stir-fry the chicken (or beef) in the oil until it is browned on all sides. Remove the meat from the oil and set aside. Add the onions, the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and one or two of the flavoring add-ins (if desired) to the skillet and fry the mixture until the onions begin to become tender. Remove the onion mixture from the skillet and set aside with the meat.

In a dutch oven or large covered saucepan, bring the broth and two cups of water to a simmer. Place the meat and onion mixture into the dutch oven and cover.

In the same skillet used for the meat and onions, stir-fry the tomatoes and one or two of the vegetable add-ins. Continue frying the mixture until the vegetables are partly cooked, then add them to the meat, onions, and broth in the dutch oven.

Again in the same skillet, combine the rice and the tomato paste. Over low heat, stir until the rice is evenly coated with the tomato paste. The rice should end up a pink-orange color. Add the rice to the dutch oven and stir gently.

Cover the dutch oven and cook the mixture over a low heat until the rice is done and the vegetables are tender (maybe half an hour). Stir gently occasionally and check to see that the bottom of the pot does not become completely dry. Add warm water or broth (a quarter cup at a time) as necessary to help rice cook. Adjust seasoning as needed. If desired, add one of the meat add-ins while the dish is cooking. (Shrimp cook very quickly and should not be over-cooked or they will become tough)

Serve with one or two of the garnishes.

Ashanti Chicken

Ingredients

one whole chicken, two to three pounds, de-boned (see below)
one pound yams (or potatoes, or sweet potatoes), peeled and cut into quarters
one pound chicken meat, white or dark (no bones)

cooking oil for frying chicken
one small onion, chopped
one tomato, chopped (or a spoonful of tomato paste or tomato sauce)
a handful of parsley, chopped
a few mint leaves, chopped
salt and black pepper, to taste

Method

Boil the yams (or potatoes, or sweet potatoes) until tender. When tender, remove from water andmash.

While yams are cooking, fry the chicken meat (not the whole chicken) in a few tablespoons of oil. When nearly done add the onion and tomato. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fully cooked.

Add the chicken-onion-tomato mixture to the mashed yam (or its substitute). Add parsley, mint, salt, and pepper. Mix well.

Stuff the de-boned chicken with the yam-chicken mixture. Sew the chicken closed with a needle and cooking string. Rub with butter or oil, salt and pepper.

Steam the stuffed chicken for two hours in a large Dutch oven (place the chicken on something to keep it out of the boiling water), then baste it with oil or butter and bake or grill it until it is golden brown. -- Or -- Bake or grill the stuffed chicken until it is browned, then wrap it in foil to allow it to continue to cook until fully done.

Either way, be sure to use a meat thermometer to check for doneness. Make sure to check the temperature of both the whole chicken and the stuffing

*Deboning a chicken takes some practice. You may want to ask your butcher to provide you with a de-boned bird. If you want to try it yourself, you may wish to refer to one of the many fine Turducken websites for instructions on de-boning fowl.

(Use the search engines below to search for Turducken, which, by the way, is a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck stuffed into a de-boned turkey.) Barbara Ba�ta gives these instructions:

"Remove all the bones from a dressed chicken by slitting the skin and the flesh down the backbone. With a very sharp pointed knife, work the framework of bones out of the chicken. Cut the leg bones to leave 1/2 inch of knuckle at the end of each for tidy appearance."

Edited by 8th Paradise, 08 September 2006 - 03:54 PM.

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