Dina Naa Ameley Ayensu - Favourite Traditional Recipes of Ghana: For All Food Lovers and Great Cooks Everywhere

First published by Dinah Naa Ameley Ayensu, 2016 Print edition produced for Dinah Naa Ameley Ayensu by I Love Books (www.ilovebooks.co.za) Digital editions published by Tracey McDonald Publishers, 2016 Office: 5 Quelea Street, Fourways, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2191 www.traceymcdonaldpublishers.com Copyright Dinah Naa Ameley Ayensu, 2016 The moral right of the author has been asserted ISBN 978-0-620-65162-2 e-ISBN (ePUB) 978-0-620-65163-9 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-0-620-65164-6 Design and layout by Rene Naud Photography Professor Edward S Ayensu Cover design by Apple Pie Graphics Printed and bound by Creda Communications This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publishers prior consent in any form of binding other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This book is dedicated to my very best friends Ms Kathy Lynn Abena DeBoe, Washington DC, USA Mrs Barbara Fisher, Maryland, USA Ms Rebecca Gyasi, Accra, Ghana They have always desired to be among the Worlds Food Experts By the same author The Art of West African Cooking CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My highest esteem and greatest gratitude go to my Maker for providing me with life, leading me all the way, and showing me how far I can go. My heartfelt appreciation also goes to my dear husband, Professor Edward S Ayensu. A day doesnt pass by without him supporting or encouraging me to do something with my life.

My greatest appreciation also goes to Riis Kwame Odehe. With great skill and care he put together various documents that I had written into a readable format for incorporation into this book. Without his assistance, the recipes contained in this book would still be resting undisturbed in a basket on my study desk because of a busy schedule. But for his persistence, encouragement, total commitment and efficiency, I could not have completed this manuscript for publication. He made book writing seem Quick and Easy. I say a big thank you, Riis.

I also want to express my appreciation to Grace Aba Ayensu for her editorial assistance. Also, I wish to thank the following people, and others I cant readily remember, for their contributions. Their tantalising responsive taste buds and palates taught me many things: Mr Charles DeBoe (excellent cook), Mrs Nadia Salem and family, Denise and Ellen, Dr Jane Sarfo Mensah (Mrs) and family, Mrs Sylvia Nyantekyi (Lady B), Shadia Sangary, Professor and Mrs Adotey Addo and family, Mr Michael and Maud Offei and family. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dinah Naa Ameley Ayensu (Mrs) (ne Tackie) is one of the charming daughters of the late Nii Tackie Tawiah II of Abola, the Paramount Chief of the Ga State of the then Gold Coast, now Ghana, West Africa, and Madame Emma Akoleyfio Garshong of Sempe. She has thirteen siblings twelve girls and one boy, namely: Kate Ameley, Amorkor, Amakaa, Amatsoo, Nii-Bi Joe, Lydia, Oode, Grace Amorkor, Rebecca Amakaa, Evelyn, Aduaa. Dinah obtained her high school certificate from the renowned Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast in 1958.

She was among the first twenty-six high school graduates selected in 1959 from the various girls high schools throughout Ghana to commence the training of young girls in Secretarialship at the then newly established Ghana Government Secretarial School. This was one of the actions of the late Dr Kwame Nkrumah, the first President of the Republic of Ghana, to replace male secretaries in the country during the colonial era with professionally trained young ladies, particularly in government ministries. Dr Nkrumah took this decision immediately after Ghana attained independence on 6 March 1957. Subsequently, Dinah took an advanced training course at the Lownsdane Secretarial School in London. After the completion of her training, Dinah joined the Ghana Ministry of External (now Foreign) Affairs in 1960 and worked at the office of Mr Ako Adjei, who was also a member of The Big Six freedom activists, as Principal Secretary. As a young enterprising diplomat, Dinah was posted to the USA in September 1960 as a secretary to His Excellency W H Q Halm, who was then the Ambassador at the Ghana Embassy in Washington DC.

After completing her term, she was posted to the Ghana High Commission in the United Kingdom for a further three-year term. The climax of her career was in Britain where she had the rare privilege of having tea with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her family in the capacity of a Representative of Ghana at an annual tea party for diplomats. Dinah also worked briefly with the United Nations as a Secretary during the 11th Session of the General Assembly. She has always sought to be an advocate for her country and to promote Ghanas interest and cultural values. To this end, she paid visits to several schools in the United States. Dinah married Professor E S Ayensu in the USA in January 1963, after which they moved to the United Kingdom.

The couple returned to the United States in 1966. Dinah worked briefly for the DC Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society and was subsequently employed by the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority as a secretary. In 1970, Mrs Ayensu was employed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Personnel Relations where she worked for ten years. While abroad, Mrs Ayensu took many courses and underwent various training programmes in academic institutions to broaden her horizons. In 1978 she obtained her diploma in Hotel/Motel Management from the Lewis International School of Hotel/Motel Management in Washington DC. Mrs Ayensus fascination with cooking as an art form led her to write her first book, The Art of West African Cooking , published by Doubleday, New York, NY in 1972.

This was in popular demand in diplomatic circles. Furthermore, she took advanced courses in Unique and Exotic Award-winning Commemorative Cake Decorating at the Mary Ford Cake Artistry Centre in Great Britain. She completed the decorating training in the USA. For many years Dinah used her catering skills to produce noteworthy lunches and dinners at her home, and for grand wedding receptions and other special occasions, often catering for over two hundred guests at a time. She was invited to participate in any folkloric Food Shows, and she gave lectures at schools, colleges and institutional homes, including Smithsonian Associates at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. She made television appearances on the Mike Douglas Show in the 1980s and demonstrated her skills in Ghanaian and West African cooking.

Mrs Ayensu lived in the USA for many years. During that period she had the good fortune to travel extensively with her husband on his scientific programmes. She travelled to many countries in North and South America, Europe and Asia. The countries she has visited include Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Panama, the West Indies, Portugal and the Benelux countries, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Finland, Greece, China, Japan, Nepal and India. She has also visited most of the countries in East, West and South Africa. She always seized the opportunities to go on tours in all these countries.

The joy and pleasure she had obtained in her travels over two decades, her exceptional knowledge of the tourism industry (the fastest growing foreign exchange income earner for most countries) led her to establish, on her return to Ghana in 1990, the leading tour house in Ghana, Fredina Tours, Ltd, of which she is the President and CEO. Fredina Tours, Ltd, has grown in strength over the years, and has been recognised, both nationally and internationally, with several awards. This includes the International T ourism Award (International Award for Tourist/Hotel and Catering Industry, Madrid, Spain) in 1999; the International Gold Award for Excellence and Business Prestige (Quality Gold Summit Award in New York, NY, USA) in 2000; the Special Achievement Award (Ghana Tourist Board) in 1998; Tour Operator of the Year (CIMG, Ghana) in 1996; Travel and Tours Company of the Year (CIMG, Ghana) in 1995; and the Outstanding Promoter of the Ashanti Region (CIMG, Ghana), also in 1995. Mrs Ayensu has spearheaded private sector initiatives as well as strategic and development programmes in her attempt to promote the tourism industry and was awarded the Chartered Institute of Marketing, Ghana (CIMG) Marketing Woman of the Year 1997 (CIMG, Ghana) in 1997; Woman of the Year (the American Women Biographical Institute and its Board of International Research) in 2001; Unique Marketing Techniques Award (Ghana Tourist Board), also in 2001, and others. Out of her busy schedule, she makes time to attend important functions such as international conferences and trade fairs, seminars, symposia and workshops on a variety of topics the most recent being a Workshop on Policy and Legislation on Ghanas Tourism Industry in May 2004 Grand Durbars and Bazaars, at many of which she was the special guest. In her efforts to promote tourism in Ghana, she has undertaken numerous familiarisation tours in several countries.