Fufu For Thought 1

As promised, this post will be the first of several covering the wonderful array of Ghanaian food. While I haven’t sampled every dish quite yet, rest assured that over the next 8 months I’ll cover most everything!

Ghanaian culinary habits are similar to those throughout West Africa. Most people take only one large meal at midday, supplemented with smaller snacks at breakfast and supper times. The basic structure of the large meal is a ‘Starch’ with a ‘Stew.’ I’ll focus on this type of meal today.

Starch: fried/steamed yucca or plantains, or one of several Ghanaian ‘specials,’ called Fufu, Banku, Kenke, or Omo Tuo. These are all made by pounding grains (cassava, wheat, rice, etc) into a paste, then letting it ferment, pounding it into a gooier paste, and finally serving it as a ball.

Stew (Ghanaians call this a soup, but trust me, it’s more stew-ish): usually a spicy tomato pepper sauce with chicken/fish/goat, but can also be peanut or palmnut based; all stews are palm-oil based, by which I mean they’re loaded with palm oil.

(pictured: typical combo--Banku with Goat Stew)
(sorry that it's sideways. my computer is acting odd....)


The meal is eaten by using a piece of gooey starch as a utensil to scoop the stew. Pretty convenient--you never needs forks or knives! On the other hand, your fingers get pretty dirty. An important tidbit is that only the right hand is acceptable for eating. The left hand is considered dirty, and it’s rude to even shake hands with it.

So far, I’ve only had the chance to sample Kenke. Kenke is left to ferment longer than the other starches, and is known for its slightly sour flavor. Imagine eating raw sourdough bread dough. I ate it with a tomato stew and chicken. Verdict? A bit too gooey for me. Has that stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth-peanut-butter feeling to it. But I'll stay optimistic for the other gooey starches ;)

One of the best things so far about Ghanaian stews is their liberal use of hot peppers. At most meals, rest assured that your mouth will be on Fire. I like to call my stews ‘lava sauce,’ which usually cracks my roommate up.

Before enjoying your lava sauce, it’s very important to “invite” others around you to your meal. This is very simple. Before eating, simply say “You’re invited.” I’ve had some trouble remembering this, but am slowly getting the hang of it. In my first week, I tried saying, “Would you like some?” or “You can have some!” thinking it was the same. But this apparently implies that someone is ogling your food like a beggar and it’s actually an insult! By inviting them, on the contrary, you acknowledge their presence and your friendship. I’m obviously still learning my table manners over here, but at least I keep my elbows off the table?