6 Ghanaian recipes to try on Easter holidays

Yam 'fufu' and goat light soup

Ingredients

Fresh mutton
Blended onion, garlic, ginger
Tomatoes
Pepper
Garden eggs
Beef seasoning
Yam
salt to taste

Method:

Cut the meat into desirable sizes and wash into a saucepan.
Add the blended onion, garlic and ginger.
Add salt, seasoning and small water and allow to steam for 5-10 minutes.
Boil pepper, garden eggs and tomatoes.
Blend all when the skin of vegetables begins to peel off and strain.
Pour the mixture into the saucepan containing the meat, add more water depending on the thickness you want..
Allow the soup to cook for 20- 25 minutes.
Peel the Yam tube and cut it into fist sized pieces. Wash thoroughly to get all the sand off.
Place on a pot, add enough water to cover the Yam and boil. Boil until a fork goes through easily and the yam is fluffy. Drain off the water but keep covered to retain the heat.
Wash the fufu Mortar and pestle with warm water.
Place the hot pieces of Yam into the Mortar, one at a time and pound them into a fluffy powdery mass before adding the next piece.
When half the pieces have been added, start to turn the yam which should be getting sticky by now, with your right hand.
Alternate you hand movements with the pestle hits, to form some sort of tick-tock rhythm.
When the yam mass is sticky enough to be shaped into a ball, it is ready, although, some people like their's really soft in which case you would keep pounding till the desired softness.
Serve yam fufu with goat light soup

Cabbage stew

Ingredients

Cabbage
Beef, steamed
Sliced fresh tomatoes
Tomato plums
Onions, chopped
Scotch bonnet
Magie cube
Black pepper
Ground cloves
Garlic granules
Bay leaf
Salt
Nutmeg
Curry powder

Method

Blend chopped onions, tomato plums, ground gloves, garlic granules, scotch bonnets and set aside.
Fry steamed beef without sauce in hot oil for 2 minutes.
Add chopped onions, sliced tomatoes and stir occasionally for 3 minutes.
Add the blended vegetables, reduce the heat and allow to cook for 4-6 minutes.
Add the beef stock
Peel outer leaves of cabbage and discard. Remove core, discard. Cut the cabbage into bite size pieces or a bit larger.
Rinse cabbage. Leave the cabbage in a bowl filled with boiling water for 10 minutes or so, once the cabbage softens, drain.
Add the cabbage to the sauce, pour water over it until it just covers the cabbage. Add bay leaf.
Bring to a boil, season with salt, magie cube, nutmeg, curry powder and allow to simmer until cabbage is cooked, cook on low to medium heat.
Allow to simmer, don’t cover the stew as it will be runny if covered.
Serve stew with rice, yam or plantain.

Banku and 'Palava sauce'

This recipe best works with left over banku. Very delicious, simple to prepare and highly nutritious containing almost all the food nutrients.

Ingredients

Kontomire / Spinac
Egusi
Salmon
Salted tilapia
Fresh tomatoes, chopped
Onions, chopped
Ginger, ch
Garlic, minced
Chili pepper
Palm oil
Salt
Onga cubes
Corn dough
Cassava dough

Method

Wash the kontomire thoroughly with lukewarm water
Cut the kontomire into small sizes.
Blend tomatoes, onion, pepper, ginger and garlic together
Heat 3 quart saucepan with palm oil.
Sauté onions for 3 -5 minutes.
Wash salted tilapia, shred and add to palm oil.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
Add the blended tomatoes, pepper, ginger and garlic.
Allow to cook for about 5 - 10 minutes.
Wash salmon, remove all bones and break into pieces and add to the stew.
Allow to simmer.
Pour egusi in a bowl, add small water, onga cube and stir.
Add the mixture to the stew and taste for salt.
Add the spinach/nkontomire leaves under a low heat now, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.
Alternatively, you can cook the leaves separately and add to the stew.
Put another saucepan on fire for the banku, add water and salt, cover to boil.
Wash your hands and pour small amount of water into the corn and cassava dough mixture.
Mix with your hands to form a paste picking out all the lumps and fibre that are in it.
Fetch some of the hot water aside, add the dough and stir continuously until it starts to thicken.
As it progresses, use a dish cloth or towel to hold the pot in place, and start to knead it; applying more force to avoid lumps.
Do this for about 5 minutes -10 minutes resting intermitently.
Add cup(s) of hot water and use the wooden spoon to make a few holes in the banku. Increase the fire and cover to cook.
Turn over the banku a few times during this process as the mixture bowls. When the water is almost finished, lower the heat and start kneading the banku again for another 5 minutes.
Use a small bowl to shape the banku.
Serve Banku with palava sauce.

Hot Cross Buns - Ghana style

Easter is around the corner and for many of us, that means delicious meals with family and friends.

Hot cross buns are a favourite around the world, and you don't have to wait until Easter weekend to enjoy them.

They are sweet buns with a glaze and a cross on them. They call for dried fruits like raisins but why not put a tropical twist on them, with dried mango or pineapple?

This recipe is adapted for Ghana from the UK BBC website.

You can find all ingredients at Ghana supermarkets, mostly in the baking aisle.

For the buns you need:

4 cups plain flour
2 x 7g sachets dried yeast
1/4 cup caster sugar
2 teaspoons mixed spice -
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups dried fruit - you could get currants, dried pineapple, mango or dates. All available at the main supermarkets. Cut the dried fruit into pieces the same size as currants.
40g butter
300ml fresh milk - don't use tinned or powdered, (you could get a small bottle of vanilla milk if you can't find plain).
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Flour paste

1/2 cup plain flour
4 to 5 tablespoons water

Glaze

1/3 cup water
2 tablespoons caster sugar

How to make them:

First, flour a flat surface – you will use this to knead your dough later on.

To make your delicious buns combine flour, yeast, sugar, mixed spice, salt and currants in a large bowl.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat., add the milk and heat for a minute. Add this and your eggs to the flour. mixture.
Use a flat-bladed knife to mix until dough almost comes together. Use you hands to finish mixing to form a soft dough.
Turn dough out onto the floured surface. Knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Place into a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap, set aside to a warm spot, in colder climates they say for up to 1.5 hours, but in Ghana, this could be less. You need to leave it until the dough doubles in size.
Meanwhile, line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Once the dough has doubled, get angry and punch it down to its original size, and knead it for 30 seconds on a lightly floured surface until smooth.
Now, time to divide the dough into buns. You should get 12 even portions, shape them into balls then place them on your tray about 1cm apart. Cover with plastic wrap.
Again, set them aside in a warm, draught-free place for 30 minutes, or until they again double in size.
You need to preheat your oven to 190°C, use a thermometer if your cooker does not have a temperate setting on it.
To make the cross that lends the buns their name, mix the flour paste together flour and water is a small bowl until smooth, but not too thick. You can make a piping bag by cutting a whole in a small plastic bag and the pipe the paste over top of the buns to make a cross.
Put them in the over for 20- 25 minutes until they are cooked if you insert a skewer and it comes out clean then they are done.
Hot cross buns are not complete without a glaze, to make this, put water and sugar into a small saucepan over low heat. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil and keep it boiling for for 3-4 minutes. Brush warm glaze over warm hot cross buns, once they are out of the over.

You can eat them either warm with butter on them, or at room temperature.

Chicken Stew

Ingredients:

Chicken thigh
Flour
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Pepper
Tomatoes
Chicken seasoning
Curry powder
Nutmeg
Olive oil
Salt
Rice
Rosemary
Green pepper

Method:

Remove the the skin of the chicken and cut into desirable sizes.
Wash the chicken twice and put a big saucepan.
Add blended onion, garlic, ginger, salt and chicken seasoning.
Stir and steam for about 3 minutes. Don't add water.
Turn over the meat and allow to steam for another 3 or more minutes depending on the tenderness of the meat.
When all parts of the chicken are well steamed, put into a colander to separate the stock for the main chicken.
Dust the chicken with flour.
Heat pan over medium high heat until hot and then add the olive oil. Swirl to coat and then add the chicken.
Fry on one side until browned and then flip.
Brown the second side and then transfer the chicken to a bowl.
Add chopped onion and garlic and saute until tender and starting to brown.
Add grinded pepper, tomato puree and stir intermintently.
After 6-10 minutes, add chicken stock and allow to cook.
Taste for salt, add rosemary, curry powder, nutmeg and chopped onions and green pepper.
Finally add fried chicken and allow to simmer for 3 minutes.
Serve chicken stew with rice, yam or plantain.

Sesame chicken stew with plain rice and red wine

Ingredients for the marinade

1 cup chicken stock
½ cup water
½ cup soy sauce
¼ cup honey
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon sesame oil (Asian stores will sell this)
1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch chunks

Ingredients for the sauce

1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon chili paste (can substitute a couple pinches of red pepper flakes)

For the chicken

3 egg whites
1½ cups cornstarch
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
6 cups vegetable oil, for frying
Sesame seeds, to garnish
Scallions, sliced, to garnish

Method

How to make the marinade: whisk the chicken stock, water, soy sauce, honey, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, cornstarch and sesame oil in a bowl. Then place six 6 tablespoons of the mixture into a zip lock storage bag and add the chicken; seal and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Set aside the remaining marinade in the bowl.
While the chicken is chilling in the marinade, heat the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Sauté the garlic, ginger and chili paste for two minutes then add 2 cups of the reserved marinade to the skillet and simmer, whisking constantly, until the mixture has become a darker brown and thickened. Remove from the heat and cover.
To prepare the chicken for coating and frying, whisk the egg whites in a shallow dish until foamy; set aside. Combine the cornstarch, flour, baking soda, and remaining marinade in a second shallow dish; mix using a fork until it resembles coarse meal.
Remove the chicken from the refrigerator and from the marinade. Pat the marinated chicken dry with paper towels.
Heat the oil in a sturdy pot over medium high heat, and while it is heating, prepare the chicken for frying. Toss half the chicken into the foamy egg whites until well coated, then dredge the chicken in the cornstarch mixture, pressing to adhere. Transfer the coated chicken to a plate and repeat with the remaining chicken.
Fry half the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes, turning each piece halfway through cooking. Transfer the cooked chicken onto a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Return the oil to 350 degrees. Repeat with the remaining chicken.
Warm the sauce over medium heat until simmering. Turn off the heat and add the fried chicken pieces. Toss to coat and serve, sprinkling with sesame seeds and chopped scallions.