Ghana – Waakye

by Anaa Rajpoot

Waakye is the popular and special dish of GHANA. This is the dish which is based on BEANS and RICE. This is one of the most famous breakfasts for GHANAIANS. They can use different types of beans in their meal and it is actually a very tough thing to choose which type of beans you want in your dish. There are other ingredients for this dish which make the dish’s appearance more attractive to eat and also enhance its taste that is called “SORGHUM”. Sorghum plays a very important role in dish making. Sorghum adds red color to the dish and also increases the taste.

WAAKYE also called STREET FOOD of GHANA and the people of GHANA really like this food and want to eat this especially in the breakfast but it is up to you that at which time you want this dish, you can have it any time any day.

The specialty of this dish is, you can serve its dish in BANANA LEAVES. Banana leaves play their role as the tradition of GHANA. Waakye served in the role of BANANA LEAVES.

Dried sorghum leaves are just like the millet and Waakye is made with sorghum. It is like cereal, Indian millet, great millet, etc.

The waakye is actually a taste of northern Ghana. The performance of this dish is related to rice and beans. Traditionally, only white rice is cooked with black peas. Rice and beans are an important part of many lands, and a dish that takes such time requires something. It is the wonderful versions of different parts of the United States, but the people of Ghana, who brought warmth to people.

The waakye is very similar to the category “rice and gram” in western India. It is traditionally prepared, but there are no spices or herbs that are widely used in western India. The use of rice and beans is common in other cultures in the United States, India, and West Africa.

This dish is not only famous in GHANA, but also in other countries like NIGERIA, CARRIBEAN, INDIA, AFRICA, etc.

ROLE OF SORGHUM

Many people used Sorghum in their dish “WAAKYE” but most people thought that the dish only contain beans and rice but it is not true. Sorghum is also the very main ingredient in the dish “WAAKYE” because the taste and its appearance depend upon the sorghum. Sorghum changes the dish’s color to reddish and also increases the taste of the dish and makes it delicious.

MEANING OF WORD “WAAKYE”

The meaning of the word “WAAKYE” is BEAN. This word comes from the language of HAUSA. Hausa is not a common language and most people don’t know about this language. WAAKYE word totally depends upon the main ingredients of the dish, so the full name of this dish is different which is named as SHINKAFA DA WAKE which has actual meaning BEANS AND RICE.

HISTORY AND ORIGIN

This dish was originated from CARRIBEAN and SOUTH AMERICA. The people of Hausa are actually responsible for the origin of this dish and then it is spread from the Caribbean to Ghana. When the people of Hausa migrated to Ghana then this dish starts developing in the country GHANA.

WAAKYE CONSISTS OF

• kelewele
• spicy plantain fry
• wele
• cowhide
• talia
• garri 
• shitor 
• fried chicken

BANANA LEAVES

Banana leaves play a very important role in this dish, it is actually a tradition of Ghana to serve Waakye in the wrap of Banana leaves. Banana leaves are often used for wrapping different dishes like a tradition. You can wrap different things like grilled meat, and sticky things, etc. It is actually a LINING OF BAMBOO.

Banana leaves should be warmed to room temperature before use to make them smooth, bent, and easy to operate. So some natural oils are released from the muscle skin to make them sweet and light and shiny, but the affected banana leaves need to be softened, bent, and warmed before they are easy to work with. They released some natural oil from the skin of the banana to get bright and sweet.

It is used in the decor of plates, tables, and used in serving. It is also spread over the dish as sprinkles.

GHANAIANS

Ghanaians are the people of Ghana, they are originated from the Ghananian gold coast. It is about 20 million people lived in Ghana. Almost 85% of people who lived in Ghana are native people of Ghana, and the rest of the people are migrated.

Ghana is called “WARRIOR KING”.

The Republic of Ghana is a very famous POWERHOUSE of West AFRICA.!

HAUSA LANGUAGE

Hausa is a language that is actually similar to the Arabic language but it is a Chadic language that is spoken by the people of Hausa.

It is actually related to the

• Chad
• Ghana
• Nigera
• Cammeron

SERVE WITH

You can serve this dish with

• salaad
• boiled eggs
• Gari Fortor
• Avocado
• noodles
• fish

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• Rice
• sorghum
• salt
• beans

METHOD

• Boil the beans in the water.
• Add sorghum leaves in it as well.
• Leave it in the water for 10 minutes and then remove it.
• put the rice in the water and boiled it more.
• add salt in it.
• leave it on medium heat.
• heat it for 20 minutes.
• remove it.