Fun with Fufu

I want to introduce you to what is perhaps the one dish that strikes a vivid and often cold twinge of nostalgia in me: fufu. Commonly mispronounced, 'foofwee' as it is called, manifested itself in a kind of mini panic attack, when my Mum would announce this 'delicacy' at oft dinner times. I recall as a kid being served huge bowls of this peculiar white mass of tasteless rubber. I always resisted, I threw a tantrum, I even tried to hide the stuff in the baggy pouches of my five year old cheeks, but my Mum always found a way to get me to eat it; namely through bribery, with the alluring promise of a Toffee Crumble or a Fab (remember those?) They never materialised and you'd think I would have sussed out my Mum's cunning fufu ruse; but no, I ate the stuff with full, gullible gusto. I never quite understood why my Mother refused to eat it herself?

 Now, I can fully appreciate how tasty and versatile fufu is; it is the essential carbohydrate to accompany many a stew or soup from Groundnut to light soup or okra stew. Fufu is prepared from pounded cassava, plantain or yams in a giant pestle and mortar with two people, one to flip the mixture over and one to pound the dough as it thickens. It takes absolute concentration in addition to a complete trust in the person pounding the dough (the picture below sums up that point quite nicely!) What do you think? Is fufu capable of making it to household tables nationwide?

African cuisine: The last food taboo?

It's really the ultimate mystery for a foodie like me: why the lack of a mainstream African food scene? I sit and ponder this; I cry, I raise my hands heaven ward in search of a divine clue, I console myself with re-runs of Dorinder Hafner on dodgy VHS or I venture to Brixton market and loiter suspiciously around the mounds of dried salt fish and plantain; but still, it doesn't elicit any answers! I then decided enough was enough and a more pro-active approach was needed, so I went on line and posted on a well-known food website searching for peoples theories on the billion-cedi question. The responses hit me with the ferocity of a plane door opening at Kotoka airport (guys, you know what I mean, that heat is serious!), African food is considered inferior! Some of the responses to my enquiry went as follows: 'It's all bland pastes and tough meat' (Please sit down while I spoon feed you my Mum's homemade shito, and then tell me how bland you think 'African food' is!) 'I know nothing about it!' They keep it in the community' ' African food? You mean Moroccan ?...And other comments of an annoyingly similar ilk. My comeback to this? Nothing. Take note my trusted Hot Plantainers, for all will be revealed in due course...but in the meantime, get involved as I'm fond of saying; what are your opinions as to the reasons why Sub-saharan food isn't as popular as other cuisines?

Interesting Ghana facts part 2

Here's another bunch of interesting tid-bits about Ghana:

1) Lake Volta in the Volta region is one of the largest man-made lakes in the world. It occupies 3.6 per cent of Ghana's surface.
2) Surprisingly, English is the official language of Ghana.
3) Ghana is the third African country to reach the quarter final of the 2010 World Cup.
4) 24 million people occupy Ghana, with the Akan tribe being the largest.
5) The personal assistant of Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana's first president) was Erica Powell, an English girl from Brighton. Some believe their relationship wasn't always professional...

Pepper crust pork with yam balls

Lordy! What one has to do to find a nice bit of pork in this town! My mission to track down the elusive pork belly has taken with well out of my comfort zone and into unexplored territories (well, the supermarket as it goes!) I looked through Peckham, I traisped around Brixton, and I even considered buying my pork from the dodgy corner shop at the end of my road! But my senses got the better of me, and alas, I got the pork belly, with delicious layers of rind, fat and meat - perfect for the latest recipe; not bad for £4.00!
 This recipe hails from the Greater Accra region and is called Domedo (Doh-meh-doh), and it's a firm favourite amongst the Ga folk. The yam balls are so versatile and go with anything. Now, roll your sleeves up and get stuck in!

Ingredients

For the pork

A 400-500g slab of pork belly
1 tbsp of dried, red chili peppers
1 large garlic clove
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sslt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Maggi sauce
A squeeze of lemon juice (optional)
1 pork stock cube

For the yams

A large yam (African yams are ideal, but settle for European if you can't find African ones)
A slice of wholemeal bread, blended into crumbs
1 egg yolk
1 tsp of mixed herbs
150 ml milk.
1/2 tsp salt
200ml olive oil

Start by washing the pork belly and placing on a small, foil covered tray. With a pestle and mortle, crush the red chili's into a rough paste and add the rest of the ingredients for the pork, minus the stock. Cover the entire surface of the top of the pork with the mixture, smoothing around the sides of the paste runs over. Place into a pre-heated oven on  a high heat for 1/2 hour, checking sporadically. After 1/2 hour, remove from oven and turn heat down. Prepare the stock by crumbling the stock cube into 150 ml of hot water and pour over the pork, then put back into the oven for a further 45 minutes; the top of the pork should be nice and crisp!
Peel and chop yam into small pieces and add to a large pan of boiling water, add salt and turn down a little and cook until very soft and then take off heat. Add the egg, herbs and milk and mash until smooth and creamy. Blend the bread and place in a bowl. Form the yams into smallish balls with your hands and roll in the bread crumbs, repeat until finished. Next, fire up a pan and heat oil until very hot. Drop yams into the pan and fry until crisp (this only takes around 1 minute of so and you should fry about 4 balls at a time) and place in a bowl. So, what do you think - delectable or delectable?

World Cup 2010: Ghana football facts

The World Cup is off to a cracking start already; so far we've seen England draw with U.S.A and Ghana win their match with Serbia; I'm sure they'll be more drama's and the usual theatrical diving, along with the prerequisite penalty shoot out. Good grief - football can be a farcical sport! Well, for some respite from all the goings-on, I've compiled a little fact file about the Black Stars - Ghana's football squad. If you know any more tidbits about the team, let me know!

The Ghana Black Stars were founded in 1957, shortly after Ghana gained her independence.

The Black Stars were the only African nation to reach the second round of the 2006 World Cup.

Stephen Appiah is the team captain, while Abedi Pele is the top goal scorer.

Each member of the team received a $20,000 bonus from the President for reaching the final of the African Cup of Nations.

Michael Essien, who plays for Chelsea, is perhaps Ghana's most famous football export.

Black bean and carrot stew

I was given a mission by a friend who was coming for dinner: prepare a vegetarian Ghanaian dish. Okaaaayyy, I thought; simple right? Just whack together some okra, tomatoes and garlic and my meat-loathing mate would be none the wiser. Wrong! He'd susssed out the blog and basically knew what I was capable of, so he was expecting something a little more elaborate than a basic, generic tomato stew with a few bits of okra. Damn, what to do? Does vegetarianism exist in Ghanaian society? Well, not really; telling someone in Ghana you're a veggie, is like telling a true Ga man that the Nigerian government are taking over Ghana: you can imagine the reaction; not worth thinking about, believe me. So, here is my veggie dish: Black bean and carrot stew, aka Yor flo in the Ga language of Southern Ghana. Feedback appreciated, folks.

Stuff
3 medium tomatoes
1 finely chopped onion
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 large carrots
200g Black eye beans
1/2 tsp Allspice
1/4 tsp Mace
1/2 tsp Black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
1 fresh tuna steak or 1 small tin of tuna (optional)
A few springs of fresh parsley for garnish

In a small pan half-filled with water, bring to a boil the black eye beans and once boiling, turn down to a medium heat and stew for around an hour, or until partly soft. Take off heat, cover and set aside. Next, soften the onions slightly in the oil on a low heat and add the allspice, mace, black pepper, salt and chilli powder and continue to heat on a low setting, mixing intermittently. Meanwhile, blend together the tomatoes and garlic and add to the pan of onions, mix together and add the black beans and cumin seeds. If using the tuna, grill for 3 minutes on each side, cut up and add to the dish. Chop up the carrots and soften for a few minutes in a pan of boiling water and blend into a rough pulp and add to the ingredients. Cover and continue to cook, stirring once or twice for 10 more minutes. Take off heat and serve with a garnish of chopped parsley. This dish is ideal served with plain, boiled plantain or yam. Enjoy!

Easy fried chicken

Just like that - prepared and cooked with minimal fuss and oh, so tasty! So much so, that the ole' colonel from UFC (Unidentified Fried Chicken) is sniffing around for the recipe for my secret blend of herbs and spices, but I reckon he's the one who's onto the money, judging by the worrying piles of knawed fried chicken bones scattered around town! I was happily sitting on the bus one sunny day last week, when it suddenly clouded over for a few seconds - what had just happened, I wondered? It turned out we'd just passed a KFC so large, it made T5 look like a dog kennel! Only in Peckham, I thought! But the answer continues to evade me; what's the fuss with all these chicken shacks? Opinions, please?

Ingredients

3 chicken leg pieces

For the marinade
1/2 tsp salt
2  large minced garlic cloves
1 level tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Maggi sauce, available from all good ethnic supermarkets

For the coating
3 slices wholemeal bread
1/2 tsp hot chilli powder
A pinch of salt

Utensils
Food processor

Start this recipe by washing the chicken and cutting each leg into two pieces - I also removed the skin on mine, but that's entirely optional. Put chicken into a large bowl and score randomly. Add salt, garlic, Maggi sauce and black pepper and rub well into flesh, ensuring marinade is pressed into slits - this enhances the flavour nicely - set aside.

Toast or grill the bread until crisp and break up roughly and add to the food processor - blend into fine bread crumbs and add to a bowl, mix in the chili and a pinch of salt. Finally, whisk the egg in a separate bowl. Now, heat approx 2 cm of oil in a pan until very hot - test the temperature by dropping a crumb into the oil, if it sizzles, you're ready to fry! Roll each chicken piece in the egg and then dip into bread crumbs, making sure each piece is covered well, place the chicken into the oil and fry for about 5 minutes on each side. Once all the chicken has been fried, transfer to a foil covered tray and place in a pre-heated oven for 25 minutes. Remove and devour with carefree abandon! Also, marries well with jollof rice!

Ghana reflections part 2

More pics of the tropical Gold Coast. These were taken at Kakum National Park - it's a reservation site protecting a vast swathe of Ghana's rapidly disappearing rainforests. Did you know that just 15% of Ghana's original rainforests remain? Illegal and commerical logging are the predominate reasons behind the loss, but by visiting Kakum you are ensuring your money is being spent on protecting the rich bio-diversity within these forests.                                                                                          

Unusual similarities - Chinese and Ghanaian food

Who would have thought, Ghanaian and Chinese cuisine sharing any similarities! All you hardcore I-can't find-any-good-fufu-in -London Ghanaians are probably thinking it's as unlikely as finding a Mexican burrito in Mokola Market - just wouldn't happen, right?  Well, you're kind of right. If you recall, I touched upon Chinese/Ghanaian food in my post Ghanaian cuisine and it's really not that much of an anomaly. Recently, over the last 10 years or so, Ghana (namely Accra) has seen an influx of immigrants from China, Thailand and India travel to its sandy shores to set up businesses along with the more established Lebanese communities who have been residents in Ghana since the 50s, as my Mum warmly remembers in an innocently, sightly un-pc way - 'They owned all the shops'. So, walking through Accra today you will find a number of Chinese restaurants and Ghanaians LOVE an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet for 3 cedis!

 

My Mum came home last week with a bottle of Chinese chili sauce she'd picked up from Wing Yip and as she was preparing dinner she mused, ' It's just like shito'. After a quick inspection of the ingredients, I realised how right she was! Made from fried and minced shrimps with chili powder, the sauce is identical - so, is it Ghanaian chili sauce or Chinese chili sauce - I prefer Ghanese myself. What do you think of my pretty naff amalgamation? Thoughts please!

Nutty orange toffee pieces - Nketia cake

I've decided to lay off the savoury tone of the blog for a couple of recipes (maybe?) so here we have a sweet dish, one which I've only eaten once or twice as a wee lad in gray knee highs with ashy elbows. After thinking about  the ingredients and how to make it, I thought, 'It's just too easy', but my Mum assured me it's a Ghanaian classic and for the very ease of preparation I should definitely include it in the blog - Well, no more convincing needed on my part, so here it is!

Ingredients

3 tbsp soft brown sugar
Large knob butter/margarine
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh orange juice
1 heaped tbsp of crushed macadamia nuts

Heat the brown sugar in a pan with the butter until boiling and bubbling, all the while stirring vigourously or until the consistency is smooth and brown like molten caramel. Add salt and stir until mixture starts to thicken and finally add nuts and the orange juice. Pour the mixture into a small dish and refridgerate until hard. In Ghana they form the mixture into small bite-sized balls once heated and the orange juice is a little creative aside, for this recipe I poured the mixture into a dish and once hardened I broke them up into small pieces. Perfect to pop into a bag for on-the-go nibbles.

Goat chichinga and sweet potato fries with a shito salsa

I first tried chichinga when I visited Ghana as a child. I recall walking up to the man who sold them at the side of the road near my Uncle's bungalow and exclaiming quite proudly, 'I want 50 cedis kebabs!' Imagine saying that as a pompous eight year old and you can envisage how the vendor probably wanted to roast me on the grill. After paying, I was literally given a bag of about 40 hot and spicy chichingas - for 50 cedis- it's like buying a car with the change from a pint of milk. Wow, one devalued currency meant one happy kid!

As you can see from the picture on the right, these are SERIOUSLY saliva inducing and they're just so easy to make! Chichinga (pronounced che - ching - aah) can be made from a variety of different meats like beef, guinea fowl, chicken and liver and are prepared on skewers similar to the ubiquitous kebab. The typical coating of chichinga combines cornmeal with ginger, chili and grounded peanuts and the finished product is quite firm. I've given my chichinga's a slightly creative egde by using thyme and paprika and teaming them with crisp, sweet potato fries dusted with cumin and a chunky shito salsa which is a fiery Ghanaian condiment eaten with a number of traditonal recipes. So, here's my version and you'll need the following -

Ingredients

200g goat meat cubed           A generous sprinkle of salt         
1 small red onion                 1 tbsp crushed peanuts
1 small green pepper            For the fries
For the marinade               1 sweet potato
1 tsp hot paprika                  1/2 cumin
1/2 tsp peanut/seasame oil    200 ml virgin olive (approx)
1/2 tsp hot cayenne pepper   For the shito
                                                       1/2 tsp black pepper             1 tomato
                                                       3 springs of fresh thyme         1 scotch bonnet pepper
                                                                                                    1/2 small white onion
                                                                                                    A pinch of rock salt
Extras - wooden kebab skewers.

Start this recipe by cubing the goat meat into nice bite sized pieces and set aside. Combine the paprika, cayenne, black pepper and sesame oil together in a bowl. Chop up thyme and add to the mixture and then add the goat meat and coat evenly. Using sesame oil lends a rich, nutty undertone to the meat which works deliciously with the intensity of the paprika and pepper - YUM!. Leave to marinade for 1/2 hour. In the meantime, peel the sweet potato and cut into thin slivers and place in a large bowl of water, pop your skewers in the bowl of water as well and leave until time to cook. Placing the potato in water before cooking removes the starch so will result in a nice, crisp fry and immersing the skewers in water prevents them from charring under the grill. While the meat is marinading, you can prepare your shito salsa. Chop up your tomato and onion into large pieces and add to a blender along with the scotch bonnet pepper and blend into a chunky pulp, remove and place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt and then refridgerate.

Your kebabs should now be ready for the grill. Grab your red onion and green pepper and cut into small pieces. You may need to snap your skewers in half if they're too long! Alternate the veg with the meat along the skewers. Once done place on a sheet of foil and place under the grill for 5 minutes on each side, a minute less if you like them particularly rare. Now you're ready to fry the potatoes! Half fill a pan with oil and heat until very hot; drop in small batches of potato and fry until golden brown, remove and place in a bowl lined with kitchen paper to absorb excess oil and place in the oven. Repeat method until finished. Cover potatoes with cumin and mix together, add salt if desired and then devour like no one's looking! So, what do you think?

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Kickin' Kontomire stew

I bought most of the ingredients for this dish from a cute, little Ghanaian run shop in Brixton market - all hip life music, 4 for a pound plantains and nonchalant service. My intial inquiry for cloves with the shop assistant went like this:
Me- Erhem, do you stock cloves? (I inquired in the way you do when you're from Kingston upon thames)
Man (chewing a tooth pick, points to the shop next door selling clothes. I follow his direction.
Me - Oh, no, not clothes - cloves
Man - (looking blank)
Me - .....for kelewele?
Man - What? (still blank)
Me - No worries, I'll jog along (man looks at me increduously like i'm speaking Hebrew)....oh dear!

Pronounced kon-tome-ray, this stew originates from the Ashanti region of Ghana and is packed full of nutrients ideal to ward off those last remaining winter niggles. Add an extra sctoch bonnet for added chili punch.

Ingredients - serves 2-3

1 large bunch of Coco yam leaves or Spinach leaves
2 tbsp of grounded egusi (melon seeds)
150 ml palm oil
 - the above can be obtained from any well stocked African market,
if in doubt, head for Brixton
3 cloves garlic
I medium sized onion
1 scotch bonnet pepper
3 tomatoes
150g Smoked Mackerel
1/2 tsp salt
50ml water

Right, start this dish by chopping up your onions and then set aside - I find something so familiar and comforting in the way that virtually all Ghanaian stews start off like this. Chop up the tomatoes, garlic  and scotch bonnet into rough pieces and add to a blender and puree. Wash the spinach or coco yam leaves thoroughly, cut stems off and place in a pan half filled with water and boil, once boiled remove immediately and leave to drain in a sieve. Next, take the onions and dry fry for a minute or two until beginning to soften, add palm oil and the salt and resume cooking for 3-5 minutes and then add tomato mix and the 50 ml water to the pan, leave to cook until the liquid starts to reduce. Any excess palm oil may rise to the surface, which you can always spoon out later. Add the ground egusi and gently mix; agusi thickens the sauce and adds a distinct nutty taste to the dish. Take a pestle and mortar and grind the spinach leaves into a pulpy consistency, draining any excess water and add to the stew. Flake off large pieces of smoked fish and add to the stew and gently mix, cover and cook for 10 mins on a medium heat. Serve immediately with fluffy white rice. So, is this stew Kickin'? You know what to do, get commenting!

Ghana reflections part I

I've been thinking of holidays lately for a number of reasons - the need for a recuperative respite, the up-coming holiday season and not forgetting it's coming up to two, long, sun starved years since I last boarded a plane; yeah, I know, not exactly cause to throw myself into the nearest Thomas Cook, but still, it'd be nice to venture abroad. So, I 've decided to feed my holiday hunger by pouring over my holiday snaps from Ghana '06. It was my first time visiting as an adult having been as an eight-year-old, so I was now able to fully appreciate what Ghana had to offer. Here are some of my favourite snaps.

I love this shot, it's just so evocative and encapsulates everything about a typical Ghanaian sunset: the warmth of the setting sun that you can almost feel through the photo, the calm of the surf and the fishing boats docked on the sandy banks - visual poetry.

The picture below was taken at the madness that is  Makola Market, a entity of staggering proportions, a place Ghanaians can shop for home goods, food, car tyres or an impromptu new hair do - Ghanaian braids, extensions...buzz cuts...take your pick.
I love how the vivid colours of these palm nuts take centre stage surrounded by muted greens and the rough, dull surface of the ground.

Kelewele

Kelewele is as Ghanaian as it gets - along with Kente cloth, cocoa beans and dilapidated taxi's. On any given day, as dusk falls, thousands of vendors acorss the country fire up their mobile ovens to make this classic dish for the hungry masses. I love dusk, but nightfall in Ghana is special, against a back drop of a tropical setting sun, you'll find the beat of hip-life music jostling with the aroma of frying chichinga, while noisy crowds make their way home - it's intoxicating and crazy all in one unique way.

This particular version of Kelewele is one I've grown up with, a tasty snack my Mum would make as a starter to a traditional Sunday roast, it pairs excellently with dry, roasted peanuts and Songs of Praise!

Ingredients 

2 medium sized plantain (part ripe and yellow is best)
1/2 tps salt
1/4 of a minced onion
1 tsp grated hot ginger
1 tsp crushed cloves
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp warm water

Start by peeling your plantains and cutting in half and then again length wise. Holding the knife at an angle, slice the plantain into small pieces and place into a large bowl. Using a rolling pin, cover cloves in cling film and crush into a crumbly consistency and add to a small bowl. Next, mince, ginger and onion and add to the cloves along with the pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt and water and mix into a paste. If you want your Kelewele particularly spicy, add an extra 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper. Grab a large spoon and mix up the plantain roughly, this will give a nice, crispy finish to the plantain and then leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Heat one inch of oil in a pan until hot and in small batches add plantain to the oil with a slotted, metal spoon ensuring the pieces are not touching. Fry until golden brown and place in a bowl in a pre-heated oven to maintain temperature. Repeat the process until plantain is finished. A great snack for any day and any occasion - it's the closest thing to being transported to a roadside vendor in Accra!

Peanut soup with rice balls

There are so many ways to make this recipe and mine's no different - a few tweaks, an ad-hoc addition or two, coupled with an hour lovingly stirring, chopping and sieving and you have my rendition of possibly my favourite Ghanaian comfort food - peanut soup with rice balls. Taste wise there are many layers to this dish - the buttery smoothness of the peanut with the underlying kick of pepper rounded with a delicate hit of garlic. It's really easy to make, so roll up your sleeves and get cooking! Results and comments always appreciated.

The Goodies
                                                            200g white rice
300g goat meat                                    2 1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic                                      1 tsp black pepper
2 scotch bonnet peppers                      3 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1 medium sized onion                           1 tbsp tomato puree
4 fresh tomatoes                                  Crushed peanuts (handful)
A bunch of Okra                                  Half red pepper for garnish
1 vegetable stock cube                         850 ml water

Start by chopping your goat meat and onion into largish pieces and adding to a large pot along with 1 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of black pepper and the 2 peppers; mince the garlic cloves nice and finely and chuck in. The trick is to dry fry the lot WITHOUT oil for about 5 - 10 minutes on a medium heat, the fat from the meat will provide the juices to fry the mixture. Next, add your tomatoes whole to the pot with the stock cube and gently pour in 700 ml of water and bring to the boil (smells good already, right?) Once boiling, add tomato puree and the peanut butter, leave on a medium/high heat for 10 minutes, stirring gently intermittently.

On a separate hob, add rice to a pot and cover with water and boil until water has evaporated and remove from stove. The rice should be a dry, sticky consistency when the water has dissipated, if not, cook a little longer with a small amount of water to achieve this. Meanwhile, remove tomatoes from soup and mash the tomatoes through the sieve, extracting all the juice until the skin remains and then discard. Add the okra at this point, the remaining salt and 150 ml of water, return to a medium heat for about 10 minutes. With a potato masher, mash the cooked rice until sticky and then form into medium sized balls with fingers. Ladle spoonfuls of soup into bowls and garnish with the red pepper and crushed peanuts. Pile rice balls into a small bowl, the idea is to dunk the rice into the soup, but I love to break them apart and stir them through the broth. The recipe is for 3-4 people, so ideally invite some friends around, or if you just can't bare the thought of parting with your peanut soup, freeze the rest. So, followers, what do you think?

Grilled chilli ginger snapper with Jollof rice

The second recipe of HP doesn't need much introduction to those in the know about Ghanaian food, but for those newbies and lurkers amongst us it's easy enough to whisk up, using simple, fresh ingredients and a bit of time in the ktichen. Snapper and Tilapia are a staple fish in Ghana whilst Jollof rice is the Paella of West Africa, eaten with just about everything and each country has its own rendition.

Ingredients


1 medium to large red snapper
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 tps freshly grated hot ginger (easily obtained from any African market, although standard ginger will suffice)
1/2 tps hot chili flakes (a touch more, if you like it hot!)
1 tbs peanut/ground nut oil
1 tbs water
Generous pinch of salt and black pepper.


For the rice


250 grams long grain rice
1 250 gram carton of sieved tomaotes
1 finely chopped white onion
1 level tps salt
1 tps black pepper
1 tps ground coriander

1/2 green or yellow pepper.

Begin by washing and liberally covering the snapper with the salt and black pepper, making sure to cover the inside of the fish. Grate the ginger and garlic into a small bowl and add the chilli, oil and water and mix together. Brush mixture over fish and begin grilling for about 15 minutes on a bed of foil on a medium heat making sure to turn halfway.

For the rice, start by finely dicing the onion and adding to a large pan and then frying in a little oil until onions start to soften slightly. Next, add the carton of tomatoes, then add the salt and black pepper and ground coriander to the pan and heat for roughly 5 minutes on a medium heat and stir once to prevent sticking.

Boil 500 ml of water and add to the pan along with the rice, turn the heat up a notch, stir and cover. Now, check periodically as the rice will absorb the water and tomatoes turning a deep orange, this usually takes around 20 minutes, but times can vary slightly. Be careful to stir the rice only once or twice during cooking time, or the rice can become mushy. Add the chopped peppers with 10 minutes of cooking time left. Don't forget to check the snapper!

As an addition, I like to add a splash of colour in the way of a really quick and easy salad of tomatoes and red onion. Simply chop a bunch of cherry tomatoes and a small red onion and add to a bowl, sprinkle generously with aromat seasoning and 1 tbs of garlic oil and a handful of freshly chopped coriander. Of course this dish is delicious, but aesthetically, I love the riot of earthy, fresh colours - the contrast of the deep orange Jollof rice with the crispy speckled skin of the fish.

10 Interesting facts about Ghana

1) It is thought that early migrants from Nigeria settled in the area now known as Ghana around 5, 000 years ago.
2) Over 200 languages and dialects are spoken in Ghana.
3) The Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive on Ghana's coast in 1471, as word carried across Europe of West Africa's rich mineral reserves. However, some historians believe it was the French who arrived as early as 1346, but may never have disembarked.
4) Ghana was the first African country to gain colonial independence in 1957.
5) Elmina Castle along Ghana's Southern coast was the first European building to be built in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
6) Ghana's rainforests harbour a fragile eco-system, home to over 900 species of butterflies. New species of mammals, reptiles and insects have all recently been discovered within the rainforests.
7)  Pre-independence, Ghana was known as 'The Gold Coast' , this is due to the large gold deposits found there. Gold remains Ghana's largest export.
8) Lake Volta in Ghana's Eastern region is the largest artifical lake in the world.
9 The currency of Ghana is the Ghanaian Cedi (pronounced sid-ee).
10) The Netherlands remain Ghana's biggest importer.