NIMA: The Street Food Edition

By Nana Osei Kwadwo

The Street Food Culture

Street food is a way of life in Accra. In fact, it’s the only fast food you’ll find in town. Easy and convenient, affordable and ready to eat, street food for many Accra city people is the way to do it.

Street food is for the occasional cook or those on the move in the city – battling traffic on the way to work or back home – and you can’t resist the lingering smells of kelewele, red red or fried fish all around. Or maybe your light dey off [chale, Ghana dey be!]. Street food is everyone’s friend – it won’t break the poor man or rich man’s pocket.

Nima is a great place to sample a smorgasbord of Accra’s finest street food. Warm your taste buds and check out this enticing photo stroll of our favorite eats on the go.

Gari and Beans in the Making

GARI AND BEANS—-

Gari is the West African name for roasted cassava shavings. It is mixed with cooked beans, pepper and palm oil and served with kokorr – an Akan name for fried ripe plantain.

WAAKYE—–

This popular meal is made of rice and beans mixed together. The fresh waakye leaves cooked with the rice and beans gives the meal it’s distinctive brown color. Waakye is mostly eaten with shito (black pepper), meat or fish. For those who like to get down, you can add pasta, a boiled egg or gari. For extra zest, add some fried plantain.

Serve Us Waakye!

Add some meat and shito

KOOSE—–

Koose refers to beans, vegetables and pepper fried together in vegetable oil. It is used to eat Hausa Koko – a sweet brown porridge made from millet cereal. This is a breakfast meal for folks on the go.

The Koose preparations have begun!

HAUSA KOKO—-

This addictive porridge is made from millet cereal and mixed with local spices, pepper and sugar. This is a standard breakfast meal for many communities across Ghana.

Ante up for some Hausa Koko

FANTE KENKEY—-

This delectable dish is made of fermented corn dough cooked in dry plantain leaves and shaped into a textured cornball. Kenkey is eaten with chilli sauce, fish, vegetables or soup.

Hot Fante Kenkey coming up

WAA GASHI—-

Waa Gashi is the Hausa word for delicious, fried milk. The snack tastes quite similar to thick slices of cheese pizza. Waa Gashi is mostly eaten with rice & peas and an assortment of meat and fish. It is best served piping hot and with barbecue pepper.

Fresh Cow Milk

Leaves placed on top gives the Waa Gashi this bright red color

Yummy Waa Gashi served with Waakye

TÒÒGBεε—-

This scrumptious doughnut ball is made of flour, nutmeg and sugar and fried in vegetable oil. Lightly sweet fried goodness! For breakfast on the run, pair with koko, marmalade or honey. TÒÒGBεε is Ga for “goat’s balls” which looks quite similar to the delicacy eaten throughout Ghana. Also popularly referred to as Boflot.

Chale….

Stay tuned for more street food chronicles right here.