Ghanaian Foods To Keep You Warm This Winter

Although hailing from a tropical country, Ghanaian foods, with their rich soups and stews filled with chili and garlic, make the perfect winter warmers if you’re in more northern climes. Here are some of the best Ghanaian foods you should cosy up with this winter.

Groundnut soup

One of the best winter warmers, this rich, hearty and protein-packed soup gains its creaminess from the organic peanuts ground and stirred into the garlic-tomato base. Add meat or fish to your taste, or even an egg or vegetables if you’re a veggie. It can be eaten with rice or, if you have the opportunity, a sticky fufu dumpling.

Light soup

A sweet, basic tomato soup, fantastic with its full flavours of onions and garlic, also eaten with submerged rice or fufu. The Ghanaian equivalent of chicken soup, it’s a staple on those cold nights when one is feeling a little sniffly or when flu symptoms abound.

Kelewele

The ginger and chili that spice these small pieces of marinated plantain are an instant body-warmer, firing you up while adding a touch of sweetness to the ripened plantain, which is essential. Fantastic with a side of peanuts, which balance out the spices and add a layer of nutty creaminess.

Jollof Rice

Jollof can be eaten anytime and anywhere, but there’s nothing like a steaming bowl of the tomato and garlic marinated rice that can be made exactly to your taste: with fish, meat or loaded up with veggies – carrots and peas go particularly well.

Jollof served with a chicken kebab and pepper dip

Mpoto mpoto

A one-pot, super-homely dish, mpoto mpoto calls for a base of sweet yams, which are thrown into a pot along with stock, veg and meat or fish of your choice, to create a wonderful Ghanaian-style casserole that is filled with lots of different flavours.

Kaklo

Overly ripened plantain is the order of the day and, if the skins are blackened and soft, they are perfect for this dish. It is made by mashing plantains, combining with flour and spices, and frying it to create a delightful and tasty sweet-and-spicy plantain doughnut, a bit like a dumpling. Typically eaten with bambara beans for a quick, veggie snack.

Kotonmire stew

A super healthy and warming stew that is also versatile in its accompaniments. Made with leafy green vegetables, such as spinach or coco yam leaves, this vitamin-packed stew should be eaten piping hot and can be combined with boiled plantain, yams and also goes very well with rice. Choice between meat, fish or egg as a side of your choice.