1. Ghana

Ghanaian Hkatenkwan with Yam Fufu and Tatale

I thought Ghanian food might be a fun start to this culinary adventure. For the most part, the ingredients were cheap, accessible and familiar (with the exception of palm oil, which I circumvented in the recipes I selected). Husband (who is -- at this point -- begrudgingly participating in this adventure) veto'd yams, but I figured we needed Fufu to be "authentic."

In total, we spent $8 and had some good laughs. I don't know that we fell in love with any part of the recipes... but I did learn two important things. (1) Plantains take several days to "ripen" (although you can fake it by roasting them then boiling the flesh)... and (2) our dog loves Fufu.

Recipes from http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Miscellany/Recipes_from_12913.html

Hkatenkwan (Groundnut Stew)
1 chicken, cut into pieces (we used boneless skinless chicken breast)
1-inch piece of ginger
1/2 of a whole onion
2 T tomato paste
1 T light cooking oil
1 cup onion, well chopped
1 cup whole canned tomatoes, chopped
2/3 cup low fat peanut butter
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 medium-size eggplant, peeled and cubed
1.5 cups fresh or frozen okra

Boil chicken with ginger and the onion half, using about 2 cups water. Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, fry tomato paste in the oil over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add to the paste the chopped onions and tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the onions are clear. Remove the partially-cooked chicken pieces and put them, along with about half the broth, in the large pot. Add the peanut butter, salt and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes before stirring in the eggplant and okra. Continue cooking until the chicken and vegetables are tender. Add more broth as needed to maintain a thick, stewy consistency.

At the end, I understood why they call it "Groundnut" -- you can definitely taste the peanut butter, and it dooesn't "balance" out with any other flavors like the Asian peanut dishes we're used to (at least by our palates). We cheated and put it over rice (instead of Fufu) to "Americanize" it a bit. I did like the boiled chicken in ginger and onion, though - gave it a citric undertone.

Note: the next day, I mixed together the Hkatenkwan with brown rice, then added more tomato paste, cayenne and salt.. wasn't too bad! 


Yam Fufu
From the above web site: "Conventional west African fufu is made by boiling such starchy foods as cassava, yam, plantain or rice, then pounding them into a glutinous mass, usually in a giant, wooden mortar and pestle." 

2 lb yams
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp butter

1. Place the yams in cold, unsalted water, bring to a full boil, and cook 25 minutes, or until soft.
2. Remove the yams, cook, and peel. Mash with the other ingredients.
3. Shape the foofoo into balls with your hands, and serve warm.

Fufu was yummy -- basically balls of mashed sweet potatoes. Fun to mold with the hands, too -- messy and adventurous. I'd be curious to try it using rice. Molly LOVED Fufu... which is odd...

Tatale (Plantain Cakes)

2 over-ripe medium plantains (black and soft)
1 small onion, finely chopped or grated
1 to 2 oz self-raising flour - we forgot this!
salt and hop pepper, to taste
oil, for frying

Peel and mash the plantains well. Put into a bowl and add enough of the flour to bind. Add the onion,  salt and pepper to taste. Mix well and leave to stand for 20 minutes. Fry in spoonfuls in a little hot oil until golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot.

Co and I had mixed feelings about these. I didn't mind them -- but the consistency was a little off because the plantains weren't overripe (so I broiled and boiled them -- only set off the smoke alarm twice!). Honestly, they tasted a bit like slightly sweetened potato pancakes. I could do them again with a fruity, salty salsa and sour cream....  

In all, we had a good time... and I loved dancing around the kitchen to West African music while cooking. Click below to dance around your kitchen, too!