Groundnut Soup aka Peanut Soup ( Ghanaian style )

This amazingly delicious and nutritious Ghanaian soup recipe was given to me by my dear friend Millicent. In Ghana peanuts are called groundnuts. We use to have this often when we were there. In India we have a similar version of this soup minus some ingredients.

I have changed the recipe just a little to make it more convenient for me. In the original recipe when you boil the water and peanut powder, you add the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and let it boil along with the rest of the soup. When they are cooked, you pull out the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger and green chilies and grind them to a smooth paste and add it back to the simmering soup. I used a shortcut method and ground everything first and cooked them later. You can grind the peanuts fine or leave them a little coarse for added texture. I prefer the latter.

Yam and Hot Pepper

Another very popular Ghanaian street food. This is very delicious and easy to make, provided you find the right yam. In America, the sweet potato is called the yam -  this is not the yam we seek. A true yam looks like this or this .

Yam and red pepper ( pronounced peppe ) brings so many found memories for me. I remember outside my dad's office sat a yam seller who made the best fried yam and peppe. The yam would be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. As for the peppe it was a wonder we did not breathe fire out at every exhale. Our eyes would be red and watery our noses would be runny, our tongues would be on fire but nothing could stop us till we finished the last piece. My mom also use to make it for 'small chop' ( aka appetizer/starter ) sometimes. Ahh, how I miss small chop !

I have tried to re-create this here, far away from Ghana. Luckily I found some yam in our local Asian grocery. I could not believe my eyes. I did a little dance in the store much to my husband's amazement. He later said he has never met anyone who gets so excited at seeing food produce.And then in the next isle I find these peppers called 'jamaican pepper' or Scotch Bonnets, which looked just like the pepper in Ghana. I just couldn't wait to get home and make me some yam and peppe. Serve the yam hot as they taste best when hot.

This recipe is amazing, especially the peppe. I found this interesting article on Wikipedia  that I thought I would share here, "It is common for people to experience pleasurable and even euphoriant effects from eating capsaicin-flavored foods. Folklore among self-described "chiliheads" attributes this to pain-stimulated release of endorphins..." So I say 'Say no to drugs and yes to capsaicin'.

I have also read somewhere that red peppers also helps with weight loss.... one more reason to enjoy it.



Yam and Peppe

Jollof Rice ( Ghanaian )

This is the recipe for a yummy, finger-licking Jollof rice from Ghana. A lot of cultures have some kind of tomato rice dishes; in India we have the Tomato Pulao, the Spanish have the Paella, the Cajuns have the Jambalaya, the Mexican have the Spanish Red Rice and the Ghanaians have the Jollof.

Jollof is popular among many West African nations. It is essentially made of onions, garlic, tomatoes, tinned tomato paste and maggi cubes. Maggi cubes are an essential part of Ghanaian cooking. They give the dish the much needed spiciness. When I was in Ghana I remember that the maggi cubes contained MSG.  So if you grew up eating that you will want to add some MSG to your dish, this will definitely increase the umami level of the dish. This is however optional. I recently read this interesting article about MSG and its controversy.

In the version I made, I added some carrots and green beans, this also is optional. I have seen people adding green peas, cabbage and even okra. This is all up to you. Make this dish a couple of hours earlier and let it sit so as to let the flavors really meld together and then your Jollof will taste out of this world.

So go ahead and enjoy this dish from the lands where you will find music everywhere, where talking drums are used as school bells and for other announcements, where there are long stretches of beautiful beaches inviting you to relax and watch the fisherman set to sail at dawn, where luxurious Kente cloths are worn by various chiefs during traditional ceremonies, where libations are offered to ancestors to honor and remember them, where colorful coffins are made depicting the life of the decessed, where scary Juju men  can take away all your money or make you very rich ;o), where Tro Tros  are used to transport the masses to their destination in addition to giving them a bone rattling massage ;o), where the calabash  can either be a musical instrument or a bowl and last but not least where the people are nothing but kind, helpful and always smiling.


Jollof Rice ( Vegetarian )