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Food is a human necessity in every society and it not different in the Ghanaian society. Ghanaians place a lot of value and time on their everyday meals. Ghanaians are very creative when it comes to their foods. These food are eating at all occasions, whether naming ceremony, parties, funerals, Christmas, or festivals. Ghanaian foods are made from yam, cassava, plantain, rice, millet, sweet potatoes, cocoyam, corn, wheat, beans, etc. Ghanaian foods are starchly dominated and these foods are eating raw or with stew or soup or sugar. Though modernization has influenced the way of life in the country the change is not that dramatic, Ghanaians have well blended western culture into theirs.
In the morning generally, some households preferably take milo or tea with bread. For the greater majority, they head striate to the wayside "Ameria" for their Hausa Koko and kosae. Hausa Koko is spicy millet porridge made from fermented millet. The millet is first soaked in water for about two to three days. The water is then drained away milled with some spices like red chili peppers, ginger, and black peppercorns. Hausa Koko is enjoyed with bread, bofrot, and kosae. Hausa Koko is best prepared by northerners in Ghana because it their food.
If Hausa Koko is not your favorite there are other options like "Oblayo"or Ekoagbemi.The two are made from crushed corn. Just that the size of the Oblayo is bigger than that of the Ekoagbemi. These can be enjoyed with peanuts, milk, bread and bofrot. Ghanaians really have variety to start the morning. Others like Tombrown,Oat, and wheat porridge.
The Ewes have a very popular Porridge called "Korklui", it is made from corn dough. The dough is sieved into small rounded pebbles. The Ewes also have Porridge made from corn flour: white porridge(silky smooth porridge made from corn dough), white porridge with saltpeter(saltpeter is added to change the coloure and flavour).
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Not all Ghanaians do the porridge thing in the morning. For some whether in the morning, afternoon or evening they like something heavy.
Ethnically the Akans preferably the Asantes like Fufu and they can eat it any time of the day.Fufu is pounded cassava and plantain for the Asantis but other forms exist, where pounded tubers are kneaded together and eating with groundnut soup, palm nut soup or light soup. Almost all Ghanaian soups look to have the same preparing formula. Most ingredients used are tomatoes, onions, garden eggs, smoked fish, meat, pepper, garlic, salt and other spices. For example, palm nut soup is done by first boiling the palm nuts and it then pounded, sieved and the other ingredients added to teste.
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The Akans have a very delicious soup prepared with fresh feces or droppings of a grasscutter and it most enjoyed with fufu.
Akple is the favourate of the Ewes and it most enjoyed with okro soup or grounded pepper and kate schoolboys or stew. When it comes to Akple they do not joke and there are different types of Akple. Akple is made with cornflour or dough. As said the Ewes are very creative when it comes to their Akple.They have Amokple(prepared with corn dough), Awodeme(cornflour and cassava dough or gari cooked together) Dzankple or Akpledzi (beans, coconut,palm oil and cornflour meat,fish). The list is never-ending, Akple can be eating with palm nut or groundnut or light soup as well.
If it comes to cooking in Ghana the ewe women are best and almost any Ghanaian can testify to that effect that the "Davis" are good. The Ewes have a very long list when it comes to food. You can make mention of Abolo,yakayake and many others
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The Ga's love their Kenkey and hot pepper. Kenkey is a corn-based food, which is made by molding fermented corn dough into balls and wrapped with corn husk which is then boiled. The meal is served with pepper sauce, fried crab, octopus or fish, stew, or soup and is a delicacy of the Ga people.
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The northerners also like their Waakye and Tiozafi. Waakye is simply rice and beans cooked together and can be eating with stew. Tiozafi is also a corn-based food.The "Amerias" make the best Waakye Tiozafi and Hausa koko in the country.
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There are also some general foods you can find on the streets of Accra like Jollof rice, red-red(beans, gari, palm oil and fried plantain),kelewele(spiced fried plantain) Gari soakings (cassava flacks), Ampesi(boiled yam, cassava, plantain eating with stew such as kontomire) and a host of other foods.
As l said early on that Ghanaians are masters when it comes to cultural integration. On the streets, you can find restaurants that serve both western dishes and local cuisines and there are restaurants that serve strictly western food such as chines, Italian Turkish restaurants. The cost of eating at these places is much expensive. Food usually ranges from $ 20 and above.
Most average Ghanaians do not have that much to spend so they prefer the Chop Bars which are the localized restaurants. Food at these places are generally far cheaper. Just with $1 or better you can eat and be satisfied.
These Chop Bars serve variety of local dishes from kokontey(face the wall),banku,fufu, omotuo,TZ,Ampesi.The soups cames with a variety of meat (bushmeat, chicken etc) and fish. You choose what you eat.
