Ghanaian Cuisine

The structure of a Ghanaian meal is a starch and a soup or stew. Fufu is cassava and plantain pounded to a smooth elastic dough, torn off by hand and swallowed rather than chewed, taken with light soup, groundnut soup or palm nut soup. Banku and kenkey are fermented maize doughs, sour, eaten with pepper and fried fish or okra stew. Waakye is rice and beans cooked with millet leaves, sold from early morning with spaghetti, egg and shito, the black chilli and dried fish condiment that goes with almost everything. Jollof rice, cooked in spiced tomato, is the dish Ghana and Nigeria argue over. Grilled tilapia with banku and kelewele, fried spiced plantain, are the common evening street foods.

What you actually see

• Fufu and soup - pounded cassava and plantain with light or groundnut soup.
• Banku and kenkey - the fermented maize doughs eaten with fish and pepper.
• Waakye - the rice and beans plate sold from morning stalls.
• Shito - the black chilli and dried fish condiment served with everything.

When to go

Year round. Waakye is a morning food and sells out; grilled tilapia and kelewele appear in the evenings. Chop bars serve the home-style food at lunch. Homowo and other festivals bring specific dishes such as kpekple.

Honest expectations

Fufu and banku are eaten by hand from a shared bowl and the texture surprises many visitors. Chilli levels are high and shito is very hot. Chop bar hygiene varies and water should be bottled or sachet. Vegetarian options are limited since most soups use fish or meat stock.

Nearby

Chop bars in every town; the coast for grilled tilapia.