ICONIC FOODS OF GHANA

Welcome to our new series: ICONIC GHANAIAN FOODS- IGFs. 

As we celebrate the 60th independent anniversary of our great and beloved nation, I think it's important now more than ever to get reacquainted with those beautiful iconic foods that are being gradually replaced by noodles, pizza and other foreign dishes.

Our foods are as beautiful as our culture; rich,vibrant, colourful, varied, highly nutritious and delicious.

Food is an important part of our culture and our history. It symbolises who we are as a people and has the ability to bring people together in unity. For instance, the Homowo festival celebrated by the people of the Ga tradditional area, Yam festival which is celebrated by most ethnic groups in the northern regions, Ngmayem Festival (Krobo), kundum festival of the Ahanta or Nzema people are all food festivals commemorated to thank God for bumper harvests and signifies that these foods can now be consumed eg. new yams.

The beauty about ghanaian dishes however is that it celebrates diversity and is symbolic to specific ethnic groups with slight variations in recipes.
 For instance TZ is eaten among all the various ethnic groups in the northern regions, but ingredients and methods of preparation may vary ever so slightly. 
Similarly, fufu is prepared differently between the northern and southern parts of the country. Simply put, we use the ingredient available to us locally to prepare the foods we consume (Fufu in the north is prepared with just yam but it is prepared with cassava, plantain and/or cocoyam in the south).

The main staples in the northern region include maize, millet yam, sorghum, rice, pulses and some legumes(beans, groundnuts/peanut etc) and the southern part boasts of staples such as plantain, cassava, cocoyam and maize among others.

Although rice has become a major staple in Ghana that is now largely cultivated and consumed across the country, it wasn't indigenous to Ghana until the arrival of colonialism when some foods and spices were introduced to colonial Ghana but have become a staple in modern Ghana.

Rice is now used in the preparation of so many of our favourite foods including waakye, omo tuo and our ever popular jolof rice which has gained international recognition and notoriety as always beating its Nigerian counterpart.

You know that saying "you are what you eat", well we can never be Chinese or Korean no matter how much pasta we consume(LOL, just for laughs- no ill malice intended). 

So for those foods we may not know of or have never tasted because they may not be consumed within our locality, this series intends to celebrate our 60th anniversary by introducing/reminding every Ghanaian to our classic foods. 

Whether a good or a bad one, food has the ability to evoke memories; like that Abonkye Nkrakra you ate years ago that is second to none, the taste of your mothers cooking which your wife can't seem to replicate or hunting for the best Waakye/kenkey joint in town prepared just the way you used to love year ago.

We will never be able to remember the ice cream van as children because we never had that but I bet we sure can remember "the pokey seller", "Alewa (black and white/ pink/choco), the ice cream with the chewing stick, ice kenkey, amiojo, achumo, Gari socking from senior high days etc. those were great days mahn.

So if you know of any great classic Ghanaian recipe please do share.

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Hope you enjoyed reading and thanks for stopping by.