Category: Togolese cuisine

Togolese cuisine

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Éba crab (Togo – Benin)

Éba crab || Aglan Pinon

4 crab, Cleaned

1 tablespoon ginger 

1 cloves

1 whole all spice

2 tablespoon garlic

1 cube

1/4 cup oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tomato

1 onion

1 cube

1 habanero pepper

Gari

Mix ginger. cloves, whole all spice, garlic and cube.

Bring to a boil add the oil and salt to taste.

Cook for 10 min and remove the crab

Add the tomato paste and habanero pepper. 

Bring to a boil, remove from the stove.

Add the gari the hot broth gradually stirring vigorously until obtaining a homogeneous paste (Pinon)

Slice the tomato and onion, mix with some cube and salt

Arrange the pieces of crab on the Pinon, basting with a little cooking oil.

Serve hot.

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Sobolo (Sorrel) with pineapple and mint

Sobolo is the Ghanaian name for a tea made out of rosella leaves, also referred to as Bissap, Zobo or Sorrel. Sobolo (Bissap, Zobo, Sorrel or hibiscus tea) is a cool drink found in most West African countries. It is a dark red-purple (ruby red) colored juice. It tastes sour, a bit grapey and a little bit like cranberry juice and can be cooked with ginger, mint leaves, pineapple, vanilla, tea grass or the aroma of choice. Like other teas, it can be consumer hot or cold depending on preference.

The Sobolo (Bissap, Zobo, Sorrel or hibiscus tea) is one of the superfoods that can help us live a healthier life. The health benefits of hibiscus tea include relief from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, digestive, immune system, and inflammatory problems. It helps to cure liver disease and reduces the risk of cancer. It can also speed up the metabolism and help in healthy, gradual weight loss. Hibiscus tea is rich in vitamin C, minerals and various antioxidants, while also helping in the treatment of hypertension and anxiety.

The hibiscus tea can also include relief from cramps and menstrual pain. It helps in restoring hormone balance as well, which can reduce other symptoms of menstruation like mood swings, depression, and overeating.

Ingredients

  • 10 cup water
  • 2 cup dried hibiscus flowers
  • 1 pineapple
  • 1 bunch fresh mint, washed thoroughly
  • 1-2 cups sugar, or to taste

How to Make Hibiscus Tea?

Wash the pineapple, peel, core and slice

Bring 10 cups water, mint, hibiscus flowers and the pineapple skin to a boil in a medium stockpot.

Boil for10 – 15 minutes, or until the color becomes a deep, purplish red.

Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool.

As soon as the mixture is cool enough to handle, remove mint and discard.

Strain the bissap into a large bowl. 

Add sugar (to taste).

Stir until sugar dissolves completely.

Bottle the bissap and chill thoroughly.

Serve over ice, garnished with a sprig of fresh mint and/or a squeeze of lime.

Stay tuned for decadent bissap cocktail recipes later this week!

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Toasted Coconut Flakes

 

Toasted Coconut Flakes

  • 1 medium coconut
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (heaped)
  1. Break coconut open with the blunt side of a butcher knife (note: have a bowl nearby to collect the coconut water). Hold the knife in one hand then hold the coconut in another hand. Hit the coconut with the knife several times around its perimeter until it opens up. Pour coconut water into bowl and set aside.
  2. Shred the coconut using the small shredding side of a box grater. Alternately, use the shredding function of your food processor.
  3. Place coconut and sugar into a non-stick pan on medium heat. Keep stirring until the coconut turns a beautiful golden brown color. This takes about 15 minutes.
  4. Spread on a tray to cool then enjoy!

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Boiled Peanuts

Boiled Peanuts
1/2 cups salt, divided, plus more to taste
2 pounds raw peanuts in the shell

Wash the peanuts and place them in a pot. Add salt and water. Bring the water to a boil.
Let the water boil for 3 hours.
Taste the peanuts, if they are not salty enough for your taste add more salt. If you would like the peanuts to be softer, return the water to boil and cook until they reach the consistency you desire.

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Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

 

Stewed Okra and Tomatoes

  • 25 Okra (a medium size)
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • A pinch of baking soda
  • 4 pepper
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 2 tablespoon canola oil
  • 3 to mato
  • The meat of your choice (I used fried chicken and smoked fish together)
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/2 sliced onion
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 2 tablespoon garlic
  • 1 cube
  • 1 Bay leave
  • Salt to taste
  1. Slice the okra and set aside in a bowl
  2. Blend together1/2 sliced onion, 1 tablespoon ginger and 2 tablespoon garlic and set aside
  3. Boil 2+1/2 cups of water and add a pinch of baking soda
  4. Add the sliced okra and 1/2 onion (sliced)
  5. Mix together 1/2 cup stock and 1 cube
  6. Add the pepper, the bell pepper, and the mixture of 1/2 cup stock and 1 cubecook for 3 mins and set aside
  7. In another saucepan, bring the canola oil and the tomato puree to a boil.
  8. Add a tablespoon of tomato paste and the blended spices
  9. Add 1 cube, fried chicken, smoked fish, pinch of baking soda, the remaining onion . Cook for 5 mins
  10. Also add some chicken stock to get the desired consistency
  11. Add the okra, mix well and cook for another 5 mins

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Presentation of Togolese cuisine

Presentation of Togolese cuisine

In contact with the foreign culture we have integrated into our diet, dishes such as attieke, bissap, couscous … as our mothers say “Knowledge, like fire, looking for the neighbor”. I will even surprise you by adding custard cake, pancakes …

The Togolese cuisine is really influenced by external inputs (sausages, adokougbi or turkey rump, Moulinex electric …). We are visibly less physical and we consume non-organic to affirm a “luxury” (go to the supermarket while we have fresh produce in the market), let our children in front of the TV or the computer all day ( instead of pushing them to play sports …), pay for meat and fish in the “fridge” (body lift) instead of raising or paying for it. For example, hens are less stressed and eat in their natural environment when raised in the wild. The obvious consequence of a poor diet is the increase in the rate of obesity. And people are proud to say that my child is plump (evi gne be lan me the kid my gnon). Respect the environment, trust nature: Eating organic means providing quality food to humans and animals, ensuring non-polluting conditions of cultivation and breeding that respect animal welfare and animal welfare. ecosystems. To eat organic is to support a sustainable, modern agriculture, whose production techniques preserve the fertility of the land (green manures, rotation of crops), respect the environment and animals (living space, healthy food, … ). To eat organic in the USA !!! you have to be rich !!! What are still in Togo should know how lucky, and enjoy it. It is also possible to burn calories by crushing with a traditional mill and walking a lot …

Regardless of your coordinates on the globe, you must eat healthy to keep fit and health. In terms of food, the excesses are as harmful as the deprivations, especially the quantity must ally with the quality. Meals should be varied and all categories of food represented. Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables, simply because they are rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber and water. The vitamins contained in fruits and vegetables are vitamin C, provitamin A or beta-carotene. Eat at fixed times. Otherwise you risk not to satisfy the needs, but to make a calorie overload. It is therefore necessary to eat at regular hours, 3 or 4 times a day.

For the proper functioning of the body, to chase toxins, to fill up with minerals … you must drink 1.5 l of water, not to mention tea, coffee, herbal teas to hydrate you.

Regular physical activity is essential, to maintain the shape, but also to preserve one’s health, to improve one’s mind. To push the children to play in the course, this allows them to divert themselves but also to burn the calories. Do not bother, as soon as you have a moment, move, put the music dance (I recommend kamou- Togolese dance is a good exercise) walk, do small exercises.

NB: this directory does not contain the imported dishes and will be extended with the suggestions of the readers.

The entrees
Avocado salad

Green leaf salad

The homemade mayonnaise

The sauces :
Agbanme dessi: tomato sauce and change of name according to the meat used: for example for mutton the sauce is called gbolan dessi or sheep sauce, beef (gnilan dessi or beef sauce), agouti (holan dessi or sauce agouti), fresh fish (Lan Moumou Dessi or fresh fish sauce)

Fetri dessi (okra sauce).

fufussi he (sauce without tomato or white sauce with fufu)

Gboma dessi. (Aloma, Gbekui, Kotonbli, Makani, Fontete, Etrson)

ADEME.

Kodoyor.

Djasse.

Mawusse.

Yébésséssi

Gnato

Fontete

M gbagba (frying)

Yebesse fionfion

Hounbli

azin dessi (peanut sauce)

Fufu Dessi

Dekou dessi (seed sauce)

The barbecues :
Hanvidokpome (roast piglet).

Chicken grill

Akpesse

Braised fish

Bloumevi

Tchintchinga

Tchintchinga packed

Apart from grilling, we also eat kanlanmi (fried fish) or elantoto (boiled and fried meat). The filleting is either consumed as appetizers (no one draws me) or accompanied yébésséssi (most of the time), frying …

Pasta (The basis of the Togolese diet)
The corn paste and its different preparations: – Éwokumé (flour cooked in water). -Djemkume (flour cooked in a tomato sauce) .- Emakumé (corn flour fermented without sound) .- Com (flour complete fermented corn, molded in corn leaves) .- Ablo (slightly sweet, steamed ) -Akpan

Epo kome

Telibo

Moloukome (rice paste)

Adowè (bean puree)

Pinon (red and white)

Fufu (yam, cassava and plantain)

Nb: most pasta comes with sauces (spicy).

Boiled (zogbon):
zogbon mash (rice porridge)

Aklui zogbon

Coco

Gougoube

Alangban porridge

Tapioca

Akassan

Efio zonzon

Galidossi

The donuts:
Gaou

Banana fritters (“klako”)

Ahawoe

Botokoin

Dough

Other:
Timbani

Rice with fat

Fonio couscous

Ayimolou

Yèkè Yèkè

Mashed azinkokoui

Stew (sweet potato djeteba, yam teba)

Galifoto

Kolonto

Rotten milk

Bli koloe

Atchomon

Grated coconut

Ahayué

Peanut grid

koliko

Klui klui

Doyi

Veyi (bean)

Concacada

Cheese (traditional)

Azi kokui

Kpedji gaou

Kponon or bread (souclé or edje)

Plantain banana chips

Togolese drinks:
Sodabi.

Tchoukoutou.

Deha.

TchapkaloFruit juice

Alangban

Ginger juice

Tamarind

Lemon

liha

Adidoyo

We will develop this repertoire together because cooking is not universal. A very simple example is cooking rice, so far I know three different techniques, for slightly different results. Giving a fixed measure of ingredients is the biggest challenge but we will overcome it. As stated in “Introduction to Togolese cuisine”, Togolese cuisine is acquired by helping the elders in the kitchen “The school of life has no holidays” at home the kitchen no longer have. This is why the measurements are assimilated automatically with time, we “weigh” with the eyes. At the market there are measures for maize, oil … but in the kitchen we adjust with the eyes. “Whoever observes nothing learns nothing.”

The result is very important: “No artifice in cooking to disguise food without taste.” The taste, the smell and the presentation are important as in all the gastronomies. The Togolese dishes especially sauces have a cooking time of 120 to 180 min (the product we bring back from the market to the product served). It is therefore necessary to be very patient “slowly but surely because patience is a path of gold”.

A good kitchen, a good household is the trophy of any Togolese woman from which come the proverbs “In the kitchen and at home, we know what a woman is worth” and “The more women there are in the kitchen, the more soup is good. “Whatever the profession of the woman is a pleasure, a joy to see her family happy around a good meal after a long day.

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Yebessessi – Moyo with Sardine

 

Yebessessi – Moyo with Sardine

  • 3 peppers
  • 4 to matoes
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cube
  • 1 sardine
  • Salt to taste
  1. Crush the pepper, 3 tomatoes and 1/2 onion
  2. Add cube taste and add salt if necessary.
  3. Drain and add the sardine
  4. Cut the 1/2 onion and 1 tomato very finely and add it to the Yebessessi
  5. Serve with Akoume, ably, Akpan or Koliko

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Jollof rice with Whole Fried Chicken

This is one of my mom’s recipes and it was inspired by the Senegalese Thiébou guinar. But this is not Thiébou guinar because it does not have 2 keys ingredients (guedj and yet). The jollof rice is enjoyed in Togo, Benin, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Ghana, and Nigeria… This recipe is perfect for the parties and will allow you to impress your guest easily. The condiments are blended and then fried in peanut oil. Then we wet with water depending on the amount of rice to cook and the desired appearance for rice. The rice is cooked in this sauce, which gives it a specific color according to the quantity and type of tomato used (concentrated and fresh) with the vegetables of your choice. In this recipe, I used broken rice but jasmine or basmati rice is just perfect for this recipe. The rice is then served with vegetables and chicken.

Jollof rice with Whole Fried Chicken

  • 2 chicken (8 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, bay leaf, 1 teaspoon pepper)
  • 4 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 cubes
  • 3 large fresh tomatoes
  • 1 big onions
  • A red pepper
  • 3 large glasses of rice
  • 1/4 cup of oil (optional)
  • 3 carrots
  • 1 Cabbage
  • A pinch of bicarbonate
  • Green pepper
  1. Wash the rice and put in a colander
  2. Clean the chicken and marinate with the spices, cube and salted to taste. Cook for 1 hour (30 minutes on each side) – Add enough water to cover the chicken at all time.
  3. Once chicken is cooked, remove broth and set aside
  4. Add 3 tomatoes, crushed onion, tomato paste and a pinch of baking soda and salt to taste. Cook for 5 minutes.
  5. Add vegetables, 4 cup water and bring to a boil. (Adjust the seasoning with cube and salt). Simmer pendant 15 min
  6. Using a perforated spoonful remove the vegetables
  7. Add chilli and rice and stir and cook over medium heat. As soon as there is more water evaporates cover with a plastic bag then the lid of the maronite. And reduce the fire.
  8. The grains of rice are peeled off each other when cooked
  9. Fry the chicken
  10. Serve hot in a large bowl with the vegetables and chicken; and crushed green pepper

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Salad Composed with Fish

Salad Composed with Fish

For the fish

  • 1 big fish
  • 1 onion (1/2 sliced)
  • 1 tablespoon ginger
  • 2 ~5 cloves
  • 2 ~5 whole all spice
  • 2 tablespoon garlic
  • 1 cube
  • 1 Bay leave
  • Salt to taste

For the salad

  • 2 beets
  • 4 potatoes
  • 6 carrots
  • 3 to matoes
  • Mayonnaise
  • Parsley
  • 1 red onion
  • Salt pepper
  1. Blend the spices together and season the fish. Let rest in the fridge for 4 hours
  2. In a nonstick pan , cook on a medium heat for 35 mins or until the fish is cooked.
  3. Boil the beets and cut in cube
  4. Pell and cut the potatoes in cubes. Boil some water add a pinch of salt and the potatoes. Cook for 15 min or until tender.
  5. Peel the carrots and slice. Cook for 15 min or until tender.
  6. Slice the onion.
  7. Sliced the tomatoes
  8. Let everything cool down to room temperature
  9. In a serving plate, add the fish in the center and the veggies “beets, potatoes, carrots, tomato and onion”
  10. Cover the fish with the mayonnaise

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Red Pinon (Gari Éba)

Pinon rouge

Gari is made from the roots of cassava, the gari is in the form of fine, white and crisp semolina.

  • 1/4 cup oil
  • 1/4 onion sliced
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 to mato puree
  • 1 cube
  • 1 teaspoon garlic and ginger
  • chilli pepper to taste
  • Chicken stock
  • Gari
  1. On a medium heat, in a sauce pan and add the oil and onion.
  2. A the paste tomato, tomato, spices, cube, chilli and stock
  3. Add the gari the hot broth gradually stirring vigorously until obtaining a homogeneous paste (Pinon),
  4. Arrange the pieces of meat on the Pinon, basting with a little cooking oil.
  5. Serve hot.