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| JOLLOF RICE
(Serves four) Jollof rice is probably the best-known West African dish. A sort of paella, it can be a full meal on its own, with chicken, fish and meat used. But this recipe is for a basic jollof, one that works more as a staple than an entire meal.
Ingredients
Method Fry the onion in the oil until soft. Add the tomato paste and fry on medium heat for a couple of minutes while stirring. Rinse the rice in cold water, drain well and add to the pan with the chilli and salt. Cook for a few minutes, stirring all the time to prevent the rice sticking to the base of the pan.
Add the stock, bring to the boil, then cover and simmer over low heat for about 15 minutes. When the water is nearly absorbed, cover the rice with foil, cover the pan and allow to steam on low heat until the rice is cooked.
(Makes about 1kg) Dried prawns are generally available in stores that supply Oriental restaurants. Those are peeled, commercially dried wimps though. If you can get dried baby crayfish or prawns from your nearest Nigerian, Ghanain or Mozambican neighbour - they are much much better. Don't take no for an answer. They've got some.
Ingredients
Method Heat the oil in a heavy pan. Fry the onions and ginger until the onions have browned. Stir the tomato paste into the mixture. Do not add any water to the chicken stock. Break the cubes up with your fingers and blend them into the mixture. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring frequently and taking care not to let the mixture burn. After three to four minutes, add the shrimp and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the chilli powder and blend it in thoroughly. Keep stirring for another couple of minutes. Remove the pot and let the mixture stand for a few hours, away from any moisture. In a jar and kept dry, shitor can keep for up to a year. Important: Never use a wet spoon in a shitor jar. . |
Why would I look forward to eating something that has had an intimate relationship with a pig's nose? I do not know.
Food is a funny thing.
Right up there in that rarefied area where the hautest of gourmet things reside,ÝI guess the test of the ultimate gourmunch is for it to come from the most dubious of backgrounds.
(Did you have a mental picture of a French guy with a big nose just there --- I did).
It could be a 100-year-old egg, a green-purple fungus ridden chunk of rotten-solid milk, enjoy-or-die kamikaze fish or, my personal favourite, birds' nest soup. My feeling is that if something can sound so utterly unappetising and still be worth more than its weight in gold, it must be true ambrosia.
In the south of Ghana there is a relish called shitor.
It is brown.
It has a pungent smell.
It is also, without competition, the most delicious preserve I have eaten.
I'll go further. When made properly, it beats any seafood preparation I have ever eaten.
I was introduced to shitor as a student in Umtata, South Africa, where there is a large Ghanaian expatriate community. We used to use a spoonful to revive the plastic (Uncle Ben!!) rice in the dining hall.
The main ingredient of the shitor I am familiar with is dried shrimp, prawns or dried freshwater crayfish. I found out, though, that dried fish, dried beef or chicken may also be used.
How shitor is made varies enormously from family to family and from place to place. The common thread is that it is used as a preserve. It is made from sun-dried and fry-dried ingredients and cooked with lots of vegetable oil so that it can be bottled and kept for a long time.
Ernestina Peprah, a Ghanaian expatriate now living in Johannesburg, told me that shitor means "pepper" in Ga. The Ga people come from southern Ghana, where the country's capital, Accra, is situated.
Shitor has been eaten in Ghana for a long time. Traditionally it is eaten with kenkey (fermented maize meal cakes), fried fish and vegetables. It is popular in towns and cities because it is handy and quick. To stretch it for longer,Ýmix chopped onions and tomatoes into the shitor. It is also great with wache-rice boiled with black-eyed beans.
Cook the beans first and when they are almost ready, add bicarbonate of soda - it makes them cook faster. Then add the rice to the bean mixture and cook as usual. This dish, which comes from the north of Ghana, is delicious served with shitor.
For me, shitor (the shrimp/crayfish one) expresses itself best in jollof rice, that universally popular West African dish. Mix one spoon of it into plain rice for a combination of flavours to rival the best pasta sauce.