Ghanaian cuisine

Ghanaian cuisine is the cuisine of the Ghanaian people. Ghanaian main dishes are organized around a starchy staple food, with which goes a sauce or soup containing a protein source.

Main staple foods

The typical Ghanaian staple foods in the southern part of Ghana include cassava and plantain. In the northern part, the main staple foods include millet and sorghum. Yam, maize and beans are used across Ghana as staple foods. Sweet potatoes and cocoyam are also important in the Ghanaian diet and cuisine. With the advent of globalization, crops such as rice and wheat have been increasingly incorporated into Ghanaian cuisine. The foods below represent Ghanaian dishes made out of these staple foods.

Below are some of the main starchy dishes made from the different staple foods:

Foods made with maize

Akple as it is called among the Ewe is also called Banku or Etsew among the Fanti– cooked fermented corn dough with or without cassava dough. Sometimes only corn flour is used.

Kenkey/Dokonu – fermented corn dough, wrapped in corn originating from the Ga who call it komi or Ga kenkey. Another variety originating from the Fanti is Fante Dokono or Fanti Kenkey which is wrapped with plantain leaves that give it a different texture, flavor and colour as compared to the Ga kenkey. Both are boiled for long periods into a consistent solid balls.