Making dinner Ghanaian Style

 After our little adventure at the police station, I decided to go back to the house with Juliet who wanted to make Jollof rice for Rebekah and Susan. 

Dumevi was very kind and thoughtful of what to show my visitors from America. He invited us to his home to share a meal. This is a unique experience as not many people are invited to come to homes because the homes are so very small. 

Susan and Rebekah went on with Dumevi in a taxi to go shopping at the oldest market in Accra. They went to Adabraka market which has been around so long it is has specialized and is now a destination for the fish traders. Read here for more info on this market and the system used.

No plastic in the market except when you carry produce home.

Rebekah and Susie got to experience the sights, smells, color, vibrancy and noise of a mostly outdoor market to buy Smoked salmon, onions, peppers, tomatoes, charcoal, etc. to make the dinner.

People like to look and inspect their produce to make sure it is the quality they want. 

Beka and Susie said it was very interesting, busy and colorful.

Then they drove back to the Dumevi's apartment to meet his wife Pricilla. 

Water is brought in from a barrel out in the courtyard to use - for everything.

Pricilla gave them a length of cloth to wrap and tuck around their waist similar to an apron that we use. I asked some women what the name of this was as I didn't catch what they call it. One woman in the office called it ntoma and another called it norma. The n doesn't have a lot of sound and the o is long. I noted that many women use these lengths of cloth for EVERYTHING. Holding babies, used as aprons, wound around in a circle to put on their heads to balance a load, folded to pick up a hot pot, covering a child - just one of those universal cloths.

The first thing they did was make Banku. In a pot them put some Banku (a mixture of cassava meal and corn meal) together with some water in a pot. Charcoal was put into a brazier out on the small porch in front of the apartment, and the heavy pot was put on the hot coals. First Beka took a turn stirring and holding the pot down with metal rods hooked to the pot and held down by her heels, and then Susie.

Note Susie's heels holding down the metal rods hooked to the pot.

After a half hour or so the mixture gets very thick and hard to stir. Dumevi took over at the end to finish the job.

Next they moved on to pounding the tomatoes, onions, peppers, etc. 

Pricilla washed the vegetables and cut them up in another bowl, then Susie and Rebekah ground them with a mortar. Note that Pricilla doesn't use a cutting board - I haven't seen many who do, most cut up vegetables and fruit in their hands - very carefully.

Rebekah was very nice to take Marco Polos of Susie stirring, grinding, and preparing the food to send back to her grandchildren.

I don't have pictures - though I think Susie does - of how the balls of Banku that Pricilla made were shaped, or the smoked salmon that she placed over the coals for a little bit. Pricilla smoothed off the skin and pulled the bones out. Then they all met over the very small table set up in the living area to enjoy a dinner together. 

The meal preparations took about two and a half hours and they were told that food would stretch for three meals.

Two community bowls, one of banku balls that a person would pinch off a bit, then scoop into the spicy tomato mixture and add a little fish that is on the side. Rebekah and Susan said the meal was delicious and Susie could feel it hot in her system the rest of the day.

Dumevi is taking the picture, though he sat next to his wife for dinner. Susan said the everyone participated in making the meal. What a great experience!

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