To kick off I have gone for a Ghanaian staple food favourite; Kenkey, Dokonu or Komi as it sometimes known is a dish similar to a sourdough dumpling from the Akan, Ga and Ewe inhabited regions of West Africa, usually served with a soup, stew, or sauce. Areas where Kenkey are eaten are southern Ghana, eastern Côte
d'Ivoire, Togo, western Benin and Jamaica. It is usually made from ground corn (maize), making kenkey involvesetting the maize ferment before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana leaves, corn husks, or foil, and steamed.
The ingredients are; 8 cups of corn (maize) flour or cornmeal (ground corn or ground maize); (White cornmeal is preferred, it should be finely ground, like flour. Latin American style corn flour, as is used in tortillas, tamales, pupusas, etc. is the right kind) Banana leaves, or maize or corn husks, or aluminum foil to wrap dough in (the leaves or husks may be available at African, Asian, or Latino groceries.
My personal preference is to have kenkey with fried fish and crushed peppers! But there are variations
in how it is served depending on which regions. Ga Kenkey is usually served hot with a red pepper sauce made of ground chili pepper, onions and tomatoes; and a black pepper sauce locally called shito.
Fanti Kenkey is usually served warm with tomato gravy or palaver sauce. It may also go with any fish,
poultry, or meat dish from Western Africa. In Ghana, guests are often served
Fanti Kenkey with red pepper sauce and canned sardines or fried fish, especially if they have arrived
unannounced or after the family's evening meals
Until next time…
Ben