of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its other borders include Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) on the east, Togo on the west, and Burkina Faso to the north. Coastal Accra is the capital city.
Tropical Ghana lies just a few degrees above the equator, and about 4 percent of the land remains tropical rainforest, about 20 percent is semi-deciduous forest, and there are savannah lands along the coast and in the north, plus transitional zones. The Eastern Region is home to the Akwapim-Togo hills.
Ghana’s youthful and rapidly growing population numbers over 26 million people (compared to about 4 million in Oregon). Up to two-thirds of the people are involved in agriculture and animal husbandry in the formal or informal sector. Crops vary with the climate and geography among the ten administrative regions in the country, which are historically loosely affiliated with ethnic groups (i.e., Ewe speakers in the Volta Region, Fanti speakers in the Western Region, Twi speakers in the Ashanti Region, etc.).
The land is crisscrossed with rivers, especially dominated by the Volta River (the Black Volta and White Volta and their convergence), its tributaries, and Volta Lake, one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. Fresh and salt-water fish and shellfish from the coast and inland are an important part of the diet, often smoked, salted, and/or dried to preserve them.
Crops include maize (corn), cassava, pepper, plantain, okra, yam, tomato, cocoyam, peanut, leafy vegetables, oil palm, beans and pulses, millet, sorghum, cocoa, rice, banana, papaya, eggplant (garden egg), oranges, pineapple, avocado, mango, sheanut, onion, coconut, cashew, cotton, colanut, sugarcane, lime/lemon, ginger, along with other fruits, vegetables, and staples.
Cattle are raised in the hotter, drier north away from the tsetse flies that transmit animal trypanosomiasis and prevent cattle from thriving elsewhere. Guinea fowl also run wild there. While goat, mutton, pork, and poultry are more prevalent in northern Ghana, in the more central Eastern and Brong Ahafo forested regions cocoa, red palm, and plantain trees thrive, and bush meat like grasscutter (aka, “greater cane rat”) has long been a delicacy, along with seasonal mushrooms and giant land snails. Palm trees line coastal areas.
The many languages spoken in Ghana pose a research challenge when writing about foods and ingredients. For example, people may say they use kakadro (Twi), kakatsofa (Ga), gometakui or nkraosa (Ewe), or kakaduro (Hausa) when referring to “ginger.” The spice Xylopica aethiopica is known as hwentia in Twi, but etso in Ewe and so in Ga. And sometimes a generic word like shito or mako may refer to one of any of a variety of peppers, or to a condiment. Okra soup is nkruma nkwan in Twi but enmomi wonu in Ga, and fetri detsi in Ewe. When featuring regional dishes in this book, their local name is sometimes indicated.
Pronunciation Note: In the local names, “ɔ” is pronounced like the “ou” in “ought” and “ε” is pronounced like the “e” in “set.”
PART I:
ESSENTIAL FLAVORS & TECHNIQUES
Just as basic dress patterns are transformed by adjustments in color, texture, and design, so too can West African culinary patterns be creatively altered to provide infinite variety. However, one needs a basic knowledge of West African flavor principles, seasoning techniques, preparation techniques, and soup and stew bases.
The Ghanaian Pantry in North America
To seriously cook Ghanaian food, especially outside of Ghana, requires stocking one’s kitchen and pantry with a few special items. While any well-appointed kitchen with stove, oven, microwave, electric blender or food processor, spice grinder, pots and pans, etc. will allow you to cook the recipes in this book the following items are wonderful additions if available:
• An asanka (for grinding)
• Wooden masher (apotoyewa/apotoriwa or tapoli)
• Wooden stirring stick (much sturdier than standard wooden spoons)
• Cheesecloth (for straining to make beverages, puddings, etc.)
For cooking traditional meals, several pantry items may need to be ordered online or obtained at an African or international market (see Resources, page 238). Some of them may also be replaced by more familiar substitutes. Here are the basics I like to keep on hand, listed by priority (see Glossary for detailed descriptions):
• Gari (cassava meal) [No substitute]
• Fufu flours (yam, plantain, cocoyam) [Substitutes: Potato starch and instant mashed potatoes]
• Palm oil (especially spiced dzomi or zomi) [No taste substitute; but the color red can be duplicated by adding paprika to vegetable oil]
• Dried shrimp/crayfish/herrings (includes smoked and dried, ground and whole) [Substitute: possibly fish sauce]
• Canned cream of palm fruit [No substitute]
• Dried hibiscus flowers (roselle) [No substitute]
• Agushi (dried melon seeds) [Substitute: Hulled pumpkin seeds]
• Attiéke (cassava couscous) [Substitute: wheat couscous]
• Ground red pepper from Ghana (When “dried ground red pepper” is listed in this cookbook it refers to regular ground red cayenne pepper from the U.S. If substituting Ghanaian ground red pepper, reduce amounts by one-fourth as it is hotter.)
• Hwentia (Xylopica aethiopica) [Substitute: black peppercorns (Piper guineese)]
• Ashanti pepper [Substitute: whole black peppercorns]
• Stoneground white corn flour
• Toasted corn flour (ablemamu; see page 29)
• Fonio, African millet, or African millet flour [Substitute: any millet or flour]
• Koko flour
• Bambara beans [Substitute: garbanzo beans]
• Hausa koko mix
• Dried white corn [Substitute: dried hominy]
• Beef, chicken, shito, and shrimp-flavored Maggi or Royco seasoning cubes. [Substitute: any seasoning cubes/granules, bouillon cubes, or stock]. Note: I prefer not to use seasoning cubes, and substitute stock or seasoned salt and other flavorings, as indicated in many of the recipes.
Other staples I like to have in my cupboard that are more easily found in the U.S. include:
• Adobo or other seasoned salt
• Canned corned beef (Exeter or other)
• Canned Goya sardines in tomato sauce or oil, or other canned fish
• Canned evaporated milk
• Peanut oil
• Dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
• Natural-style creamy peanut
