Culturally Sensitive Eating and Weaning Guidance

Balanced diet

A to Z of national dishes.

 

Ghanaian community

• Banku: A fermented corn and cassava dough, often served with fried fish or other protein
• Fufu: A starchy dumpling made from pounded cassava and plantains, typically served with soups or stews.
• Jollof rice: A popular rice dish cooked with tomatoes, peppers, and spices, often served with grilled fish or chicken.
• Kokonte: Made from cassava flour usually eaten with soups made from palm nut or groundnuts. It is popular in West African countries such as Nigeria and is also eaten in the Caribbean. The English name for the delicacy is "brown fufu"
• Rice balls(Omotuo). Made with rice. Mostly, "broken rice" or long grain rice broken into smaller pieces is used. It is a Ghanaian version of the Nigerian Hausa staple Tuwon Shinkafa, which provides the name “Tuwo” used in this dish and in “Tuwo Zaafi”, another popular Ghanaian dish with Hausa origins. The rice is usually cooked with more water than usual to make it softer. It is then beaten to make it smooth, after which it is shaped into sizable balls. In Ghana, it is usually served with soup made of groundnut or palmnut. In Nigeria, it may accompany miyan kuka (dried okra and baobab leaf soup)
• Red Red. A flavorful stew of black-eyed peas cooked in tomato sauce, often with onions, ginger, and garlic.
• Waakye: A rice and beans dish, often with added fried eggs, stewed meat or fish, and shito (a spicy pepper sauce)

 

Eritrean community

• Tsebhi/Zigni (stew). A spicy stew made with meat (lamb, mutton, beef) and Berbere, a spice blend. Accompanied with injera (a flatbread)
• Oulwa/Tibsi: Sauteed meat, onions, and Berbere, served with a sauce
• Kifto. Finely minced raw beef seasoned with spices, often served with Injera
• Vegetarian stews. E.g., Lentil stew. a happy mixture of spicy lentils, offset by sweet carrots and tomatoes. The heat comes from berberé, the regional spice blend that should be added with a heavy hand. You know, for authenticity purposes. And lots of sweating
• Suwa. A traditional, home-brewed beer, often made from roasted corn, barley, and other grains. It's a popular beverage, especially during celebrations, and is known for its slight sourness. Suwa is often served alongside injera, a staple flatbread in Eritrean cuisine.

 

Nigerian community

• Jollof rice. A popular rice dish, often made with tomato-based sauce, spices, and sometimes meat
• Eba/Garri. A staple food made from cassava, often eaten as a snack or with other dishes
• Pounded Yam. A staple dish made from pounded yam, often served with soups like Egusi, Ogbono, or Vegetable soup
• Tuwo shinkafa. A type of Nigerian rice swallow from the northern part of Nigeria. It is a thick pudding prepared from a local rice that is soft and sticky, and is usually served with different types of soups like Miyan Kuka, Miyan Kubewa, and Miyan Taushe. Two variants made from maize and sorghum flour are called Tuwon Masara and Tuwon Dawa, respectively. In Ghana, Tuwon Shinkafa is called Omo Tuo
• Egusi soup. A popular soup made with pumpkin seeds, meat, and various vegetables.
• Ogbono Soup. Made with ground dry ogbono seeds. The ground ogbono seeds are used as a thickener, and give the soup a black or brown coloration. Besides seeds, water and palm oil, it typically contains meat and/or fish seasonings such as chili pepper, salt, crayfish, leaf vegetables and other vegetables.