On finding West African ingredients

It's exciting to see North Americans (and Europeans) embracing West African food! Unfortunately, many of us do not live in large urban areas where we can easily locate some of the unfamiliar ingredients. Last week I made a trip to our local international market here in State College, Pennsylvania, for a spontaneous, quick runthrough of some items locally available. I was rushing, and missed many things (like cream of palm fruit aka palm butter) in the store and also cannot believe some of the words that came out of my mouth, such as saying "coconut paste" when I meant "groundnut (peanut) paste," and holding some Ga kenkey and saying it is fermented corn dough rather than that it is made from steamed fermented corn dough (with a bit of cassava dough, too). I spoke about "dried fish powder" when it would have been better to say "dried flaked fish/shrimp."

Still, I hope you find it helpful, especially if you are exploring recipes from The Ghana Cookbook.

And remember, too, that as North American tastes are changing, it is getting easier and easier to find many of these ingredients in local supermarkets, from millet flour to fresh coconut to red palm oil to taro (Ghanaians call it "cocoyam") to plantains or fresh papaya. I find many of them in our local Wegman's, Giant, Trader Joe's, Weis, or even Wal-Mart.
(Hint: there's a recipe in the book that calls for smoked turkey, which is only available around here at Christmas, so this time of year might be a good time to try it out!)


                                                                           
Note: Thank you to students Nick Weis and Jessica Stefanowiz, both from Happy Valley Communications for running video and helping set up, respectively, and for owner Jin Zhou for allowing us to film in The International Market

Recipes #83: corned beef stew with #84: ampesi (boiled starchy vegetables)

One of our household standbys for unexpected guests, corned beef stew is also one of the first recipes I taught all my children when they were learning to cook. 

Historically, when folks in Ghana returned to their hometowns for holidays, they would often carry "tinned" goods from the urban areas to give as gifts, such as "tinned milk," "sardines," "mackerel" and "Exeter corned beef." This stew, sort of like a hash or chowder without the milk or potatoes, still carries a sense of being special. 

When my children were young, they used dried ginger and red pepper, but it tastes better using fresh seasonings. Also, they used an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce instead of fresh tomatoes. It's your own call on exactly what you use.

Recipe #83: Corned Beef Stew

Assemble ingredients:

• 1 can of corned beef
•  about a 1" piece of fresh grated, peeled ginger (or about a half teaspoon of dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon of curry power (more if you like a zestier flavor)
• dried ground red pepper to taste (begin with about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon and add more if you want it spicier), OR fresh hot minced or ground chili peppers (with or without seeds and membranes) of your choice
• Additional seasoning of choice (I added a little optional Mrs. Dash no-salt seasoning)
• 1 large onion, sliced or chopped
• 1/3 cup of peanut oil (or other vegetable oil)
• a few cloves of garlic, crushed or minced (optional)
• salt to taste (depends on fresh or canned tomatoes, and personal preference, but I'd begin with 1/2 teaspoon)
• 1 8-ounce can of tomato sauce (OR 4-5 fresh tomatoes, peeled and seeded and chopped or pureed, if desired, OR substitute canned tomatoes, pureed or chopped).
• a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste (optional)
• 2 eggs
• Garnish of your choice: a small onion and fresh bell pepper slices sauteed in a little oil, fresh steamed or sauteed vegetables, etc. (I had some green beans fresh from the garden, so I used those.)

Directions:

1.  As for most Ghanaian stews, begin with making a gravy: prepare the onion, ginger, pepper (if using fresh) and garlic if using. I was rushing today, so I threw the onion in a mini food processor, emptied it out, and then added fresh coarsely chopped ginger, pepper and garlic. Unfortunately, I didn't like the texture of those at all. I suggest that if you wish to use a machine, you use a blender to grind the spices finely instead, and I still prefer chopping onions for stews by hand.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy pan, then fry the chopped onions for a few minutes.
3. Add the spices and salt and cook a few more minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes (I pureed canned tomatoes in a blender, but strained out the seeds before I added it to the stew), stir well, and let the stew continue to simmer.
5. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them with a fork, and stir into the stew, and let all simmer together for 10 minutes. Most of the water should evaporated so the stew is not runny. If it is too dry, add a little water to keep it from sticking.
6. While the stew simmers, prepare any garnish.

This stew goes very well with plain rice, or rice and beans (waakye), as well as the ampesi recipe that follows.

Variation: other "tinned" foods, like tinned mackerel, could be substituted for the beef.

Recipe #84: Ampesi (boiled starchy vegetables) 

While frying is a popular cooking mode in Ghana, healthy and simple boiled starchy vegetables are also very common. When I think of my favorite meals, I remember the small green plantains (apim or apem) that often accompany nknotomire stew, or  the larger plantains (apantu) that are more commonly served ripe, the boiled yam slices that go with most any stew, as well as  boiled cocoyams (taro) or cassava (manioc). Boiled sweet potatoes (usually white) are a less common form of ampesi.

When I first went to Ghana I was taught to put the heavier root vegetables that would take longer to cook on the bottom of the cooking pot, and the faster-cooking ones on top. In the U.S. I just put them all in together in a jumble. A good addition/substitution in the U.S. is russet potatoes.

Directions:

Assemble ingredients. The amount depends on the quantity of vegetables you're preparing and how many people you plan to serve.

1. Peel the yam, cut it into rounds about half an inch thick, and cut each round in half. If using green plantains, peel them and cut  them in half lengthwise (horizontally). If using ripe plantains, sweet potato, cassava (manioc), potatoes, or cocoyam (taro), peel and cut each in several pieces.
2. Put them into a large pot, cover with water, and add a little salt if you like.
3. Bring the water to a boil and cook until the vegetables are soft but not mushy (if the ripe plantains cook more quickly, you can remove them with a slotted spoon while the other vegetables finish cooking).
4. Drain the water off when they are cooked (about 20 minutes), and serve immediately with any stew, such as corned beef stew.

 

Recipe #38: Cocoyam (taro, mankani) chips

While we were in Brazil in 2007, one night I  made cocoyam chips  for some colleagues who were over for dinner,  and they couldn't stop raving about them. When my husband and I were (literally) poor graduate students and married in Ghana in 1972, we cooked and served these at our wedding reception, and they were cheap, but elegant.

They're a little harder to make than plantain strips because the cocoyams (aka taro, mankani) are more slippery and harder to hold to grate or slice, but it's well worth the effort.

Cocoyam chips are similar to potato chips, but the cocoyams are harder so the chips are crisper and have a different flavor, though also mild. As with plantains, the thinner you manage to cut the chips, the tastier they are. I used a vegetable peeler to peel them, and used several methods to make the chips: a box vegetable grater, a vegetable peeler, and a knife. How I wish I had a mandolin! 

Follow the same procedure for frying and draining and salting them as for green plantain chips. Delicious!

Tanzanian Breakfast at TEDGLOBAL

That first morning at TEDGLOBAL I went to breakfast at the lovely Serena Mountain Village resort where I was booked for the 4 days of the conference. Several safari tour groups stayed there during the same time. The breakfast buffet was long and plentiful, filled with fresh tropical fruits, cold cereal and granola, croissants, breads and pastries, oatmeal, and fruit juices. Pots of hot coffee and tea were brought to the tables.

I respectfully requested to speak to the sous chef, Alex Babu. When he came from the kitchen, I explained that this was my first visit to Tanzania, and how could I get a traditional Tanzanian breakfast. He looked puzzled, and asked what I meant. “I want to eat what you eat for breakfast,” I explained. His face brightened and he promised to do so the next morning. That day I was treated to the best breakfast I had at the conference: a mild, creamy sorghum porridge eaten with fresh whole-milk yoghurt and sugar, and in place of toast, freshly cooked root vegetables: ripe plantain spears, chunks of a wonderful white sweet potato, and what we call cocoyam (taro) in Ghana.

I suggested that perhaps they could try serving the porridge sometimes alongside the standard western fare. The following day I noticed sorghum porridge had replaced the oatmeal. It also appeared, alas, that I was the first person to help myself to it. However, later at the conference, an American woman who had overheard my conversation with Alex the day before, came up and thanked me for asking them to serve the porridge, which she had tried and found excellent.

En route to the conference, I spent a few days in Ghana with a Ghanaian friend who promptly offered me corn flakes, bread and tea my first morning at her home. When I asked about koko (millet/corn porridge), and koose (fried cowpea fritters), she promptly honored my request. The fresh millet porridge with a stunning bite of ginger, sugar, cloves and hwentia, mixed with a little evaporated milk, along with the satisfying koose (a.k.a. accra, akara, akla, bean balls, kosai, kose, and koosé) was my favorite breakfast from that trip. The next day I had a slightly fermented corn version that was also delightful. Served alongside the wonderful mangos in season (and I prefer the traditional small juicy yellow ones), I had to stop myself from doing what my family calls "the happy dance."


It still baffles me why Africans so often replace their hearty, tasty, and healthy traditional breakfast meals with “modern, western” choices. And it saddens me to find them catering to tourists with “continental” breakfasts when they have so much more to offer to non-Africans.

I’ll continue making observations from the conference (which, despite the triteness and inadequacy of the words), was truly astounding with its potential to empower people to change lives. I was amazed and overwhelmed to find such support and enthusiasm for my campaign to restore to the continent a proper respect for and appreciation of its culinary heritage and contributions. I owe Emeka Okafor and the sponsors of the TED fellowships a great debt I’ll do my best to repay.