Ghanaian traditional drink – “zoomkoom”

This is the 22. post from Ghana! And the last one! All the schools which registered in the Mondo’s food project have done their food project now (from September to November).

This post is special not only because it’s the last one from Ghana but this is the first and only which introduces you about the  Ghanaian traditional drink.

Teacher Janet and camera-student

 

Kongo Junior High School decided to change their food project plan and prepare the drink called “zoomkoom” instead of making “tubani” (some schools have already prepared it!).

Preparing traditional “zoomkoom” using guinea corn and shea butter

 

“Zoomkoom” is a flour water. “Zoom” means flour in nabt and “koom” means water. This drink is offered to (unexpected) guests, it is easy to make and delicious to taste! So “zoomkoom” is a welcome-to-my-house drink.

Traditional “zoomkoom” is ready

There are two different variants of “zoomkoom”: the traditional one and more modernized. Kongo JHS prepared them both.

Preparing modernized “zoomkoom” using millet flour and sugar

Recipe for traditional “zoomkoom”

Ingredients:

– Guinea corn flour mixed with pepper;

– shea butter;

– water.

How to prepare:

1. Mix the flour with shea butter and stir. Use kalabash.

2. Add some water and stir.

Estonian volunteer, food project co-ordinator and the author of Ghana schools posts Liina tasting “zoomkoom” from kalabash.

 

In modernized “zoomkoom” instead of Guinea corn millet flour is used and sugar is also sugar is added, not shea butter – the rest is the same.

“Zoomkoom” two different varieties: traditional (brown) and modernized (white)

 

“Zoomkoom” has an interesting taste, it is hot (spicy) and sweet at the same time! It is really nutritious and advised for sportsmen.

Watch our video and try to prepare “zoomkoom” yourself!

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Beans cakes with stew by Yakoti PS

Usually is Ghanaian national dish “tobani” (beans flour cakes) eaten with sheaoil and pepper but Yakoti Primary School wanted to prepare “tobani” with stew.

It is the same dish as “tubani” or “toubani”, different villages call it just differently.

There are some photos about our food project below.

Our camera-man with Mondo donated tablet.

Grass and leaves are used in preparing “tobani”

Cooking place is ready

Cakes are cooked by steaming

“Tobani” is ready now, removing the leaves

Cooks are presenting: stew and beans cakes

Bon appetit! Head isu! Nayen song ka la sigi!

 

Video tells more than photos, so watch our video too!

 

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Blueberry and Kama Muffins

We prepared blueberry muffins with kama and cottage cheese. Kama is Estonian traditional food. We eat it with yoghurt, sour milk and with some other dairies.

Recipe:

• 3 eggs
• 150 ml sugar
• 200 ml flour
• 100 ml oil
• 100 grams cottage cheese
• 5 tablespoons kama powder
• Some blueberries
• Baking powder

You have to mix all the ingredients except the blueberries. Then pour the dough into muffin forms and add some blueberries. Then put muffins into oven (200 degrees celsius) and bake them until they are golden brown (~20 minutes). Enjoy!

 

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Estonian national cake – scone karask

We made Estonian national cake – scone „karask“ from barley flour. We need some eggs, wheat flour, kefir, butter, sugar, salt and cumin, too.

Making our national cake

It`s time to bake

Ready!

mmm good!

Recipe

 

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Cooking Afghan Curry and Eggplant Bolani at our school

In this video we show you how to cook Biryani rice, Bolani, Peeraki, Afghan curry, salad, Chakni and fruit chart!

The dishes we cook in the video is mostly cooked for random lunches and dinners, however, the rice dish and Afghan curry (various types) are also considered must for all afghan special occasions e.g: weddings, parties, hospitality etc.

In Afghanistan, girls of student age are quite keen to help their mothers cook delicious dishes as you watched in the video. We unfortunately do not run cooking classes arranged for the students due to insufficient possibilities. It could be a great initiative for the future.

Recipes for the Curry and Bolani:

 

Afghan Curry
Ingredients:

• 1 kg Chicken pieces, skin removed
• Cooking oil 3-4 tbsp
• Fresh tomatoes ½ kg
• Garlic 3-4 cloves
• Fresh pepper 4pieces
• Thick Yoghurt ½ kg
• Small piece of ginger peeled
• 1 heaped spoon of coriander powder
• ½ spoon of seasoning

Instructions:

1. Pour oil in a cooking pot, add pieces of chicken to the heated oil.
2. Stir the chicken pieces in the pot, add garlic, add small cut pieces of fresh pepper, add coriander powder, add cut tomatoes, add seasoning, add ginger pieces, salt and thick yoghurt. Now add a glass of water .Stir again until all the ingredients added to cooking pot get well mixed.
3. Now heat it for around 12 minutes – (medium heat)
4. Turn heat off and delicious Afghan chicken curry should be ready. You may check the chicken pieces for softness and may cook if for five more minutes if the chicken is not as much cooked as you may like.
5. Sprinkle a handful of chopped coriander on curry as garnish.

 

Eggplant Bolani
Ingredients:

• ½ kg eggplant
• Thick Yoghurt ½ kg
• Garlic 3 cloves
• Cut Tomatoes ½ kg
• Salt (as needed)
• Fresh pepper 2 pieces
• Fresh chopped coriander for garnish

Instructions:

1. Peel off eggplant and cut into equal slices
2. Place the pieces of eggplant in a plate – Add some salt to the uncooked eggplant and leave for 3 minutes
3. Now, pour cooking oil into a frying pan, turn the heating on and add eggplant pieces to it to cover the surface of the frying pan (make sure the eggplant water in the plate is not used).
4. Leave the eggplant for 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Now remove the fried eggplant from the frying pan and add cut tomatoes, chopped garlic and fresh pepper and 1 tbsp of salt to the same oil in the pan.
6. Stir well until it is turned into paste.
7. Now add the fried eggplant to the paste and stir carefully until the eggplant pieces are well covered with the paste containing tomato, garlic, pepper and salt.
8. Use thick yoghurt and chopped coriander as garnish.
9. Enjoy! 🙂

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Northern Ghanaian most common dish TZ with vegetable soup

Zanlerigu Primary School

Ghanaian national food: TZ with vegetable soup
In Africa, especially Ghanaians consume varieties of food. One of the most cherished food consumed in the northern part of Ghana is “tuo zaafi” (TZ).

T.Z can be prepared using maize or millet. This millet is sub-divided into two: early millet called “nara” and guinea corn called “kemolega”.

After harvest this harvested millet is dried for 3-4 days and when well dried, you thrash or pound them and afterwards remove all the chaffs from the grains.

Also, the grains are ground using the grinding stone or grinding mill. This ground grains are called flour. This flour will be mixed with water. The water should stay for a day so that fermentation will take place. With your entire cooking utensils ready e.g. stirring rod, pot etc pour the fermented mixture inside the pot on fire and stir till it is uniformly mixed to form porridge. When this porridge is well boiled add flour and start stirring and adding the flour for 2-3 minutes and that makes what is called T.Z.

T.Z can be taken with a lot of soup depending on the kind of soup one prefers: groundnut paste and okro soup (vegetable soup) is what we intend eating with our T.Z.

With your groundnut paste, okro and other ingredients ready, you cut your okro into pieces set your fire and if the water starts boiling, pour your okro inside the pot.

If it starts to boil or boiling add salt bitter into it. In Ghana salt is very important in preparation of any meal, so you add salt and any other ingredients that are made available to you. You can even add meat if you have.

After all this you then serve your bowls and that makes a complete meal for consumption.

Bon appetit!

Our food project coordinator

Our chef

Cutting okro

Preparing T.Z.

T.Z. with vegetable soup is ready

Spend the next 10 minutes with us  to see the video and find out how our most common dish is made.

 

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Ghanaian doughnut – “koosi”

Today the teachers and students from Zopeliga Primary School, Upper East Region, Ghana prepared their national food called “koosi”.

“Koosi” is a deep fried doughnut without the hole made from beans flour and added onions inside. This is a delicious light meal which is good to eat for example with porridge for breakfast or lunch. Ghanaians don’t prepare “koosi” every day but you can buy it from the market.

 

Our food project photographer

Even our head master was there to see what are we doing!

Preparing koosi

Koosi is ready!

Our project is finished: tablet is resting and koosi is ready.

It’s sooooooooo good!!!!

Want to prepare “koosi” yourself? Watch our short video and try!

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Ghanaian dish “kanzagma” of beans by Gane-Asonge PS

The students and teachers from Gane-Asonge Primary School prepared Ghanaian national dish called “kanzagma” using beans.

Our cooking team

Local people don’t eat “kanzagma” every day, it is a meal that they make for special guests.

Ingredients needed for “kanzagma” we prepared:

• beans;
• water;
• salt bitter;
• groundnut oil;
• “yahzi” if you like  (made from “kulikuli” which gotten from groundnut);
• one onion;
• pepper and salt.

Instead of a blender we used our “local blender” called “atta aueia”  – “woman power blender” as our teachers named it.

Local blender

First of all you have to put the beans into water for 30 minutes, after that you can grind them.

Beans in the water; grinding the beans and already ground beans.

Students grinding the beans

Watch our video and find out how simple but delicious dish of beans is prepared:

Seasoning

Our “kanzagma” of beans is ready

Read all the posts by Asonge Primary School and Kindergarten.
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