AUTHENTIC GHANA WAAKYE RECIPE

Step by step method

• STEP 1

  Let’s get started, I begin by washing my beans thoroughly, then I soak for 45 minutes to get rid of the gas. If you soak it before washing, the skin may come off and we do not want that. We also don’t want to not wash our beans, so I wash it very nicely and I add some water to it and leave it there to soak until we are ready to use.

• STEP 2

  Next I begin with hot water, you can choose to begin with cold if you like. So that goes in our pan. Then I add my beans, then we are going to cook this until its like 80 to 90 percent done.

• STEP 3

  While that is going on am going to prep my millet or waakye leaves. And I like to wash it thoroughly because this millet leaves have been travelling. I don’t know who touched it, some flights have enjoyed it. So just make sure you give it a quick wash, its not going to take out the colour. It will be just fine. Then we are going to bring this to a boil to bring out the colour, and you know I like re using my waakye leaves. And to activate the colour or to make it even more intense you add baking soda and am just going to cover it up to bring it to a boil. If you are using for the second time you have to boil it a bit longer to get the most out of it, but for the first time you just bring it to a boil. And there you have it, just check out the colour, beautiful, you don’t need too much baking soda just a pinch. So am just going to get the waakye leaves out and am going to store it in my refrigerator for a second use. And this is ready.

• STEP 4

  So, let us check on our beans and its looking good, am just going to take one to check if it is at the tenderness I want. And its perfect. So, I have washed my rice, so am just going to add it to the beans. Now, I will add my salt to taste and my coconut oil. If you don’t have the Ghana made coconut oil you can use any other type. I then added the liquid from the waakye leaves am just going to stir it. And am making this the regular way, but I actually prefer my waakye to be nice and soft. And I have a recipe for that soon. So, I have added all the liquid from the waakye leaves so I have about 2 and a half cup of liquid all together. You will bring it to a boil and lower the heat and you will allow all the liquid to evaporate beautifully. Then we are going to stir it, be careful not to burn it. If you are using a pan like mine, it does not stick so I like that, I absolutely love it. Give it a stir then we go ahead to cover it now with parchment paper and allow it to cook beautifully.

• STEP 5

  Meanwhile I will go ahead and cook my pasta, yes, we add pasta to waakye. I think somebody was asking in my deleted video. ‘when did Ghanaians started adding pasta to waakye, we always did my darling and it makes it taste so good. So, I season my water with some salt, and I added some olive oil to keep my pasta from sticking together. And am going to cook this until it is done, meaning it’s not mushy at all. It has texture to it but it is cooked, so stir it cover it, and allow it to cook.

• STEP 6

  So, while this going on, am going to keep checking on my waakye. Oh my goodness, It is ready, it is just so beautifully done, everything is nice and soft. The beans is not like mushy, it is just perfect. Trust me, this waakye taste like your favorite waakye joint. So now I will cover it back with the parchment paper to keep any condensation out of it.

• STEP 7

  Our pasta is nice and ready, so all we have to do is to strain the water out. So, we going to put it in the pot add some stew mix it well until everything is well incorporated, cover it up to keep it nice and warm.

• STEP 8

  Then we are going to go ahead to and make our Gari Fortor, so am going to add some water and mix it well then I add some stew give it a good mix, I also add some carrot and stallions to give it a perfect colour.