Ghanaian Food Glossary

New to Ghanaian cooking? This glossary explains the ingredients and terms that come up again and again in our recipes — what they are, what they taste like, how they're used, and the best substitutes if you can't find them where you live.

Dawadawa

A pungent, fermented seasoning made from African locust beans, used in tiny amounts to add deep, savoury umami to Ghanaian soups and stews.

Also known as: iru, sumbala, locust beans

Garden Eggs

Small, round African eggplants — white, green, or striped — eaten in stews, boiled with yam, or raw as a crunchy snack with shito and pepper.

Also known as: African eggplant, bitter tomato

Kontomire

Cocoyam (taro) leaves — the dark, leafy green that forms the base of Ghana's kontomire stew, also known as palaver sauce or abomu.

Also known as: cocoyam leaves, taro leaves

Gari

Toasted, fermented, granulated cassava — a shelf-stable staple eaten as gari soakings, with beans, or stirred into a dough.

Also known as: garri, cassava flakes

Shito

Ghana's dark, savoury hot pepper sauce made from dried fish or shrimp, chillies, and aromatics fried slowly in oil. 'Shito' means 'pepper' in the Ga language.

Also known as: Ga black pepper sauce, Ghanaian hot sauce

Palm Nut

The orange-red fruit of the oil palm, boiled and pounded to extract the rich pulp that forms the base of palm nut soup (abenkwan).

Also known as: oil palm fruit, abe

Corn Dough

Fermented ground-corn dough with a tangy, sour taste — the essential base of banku, kenkey, and other Ghanaian staples.

Also known as: fermented corn dough, banku flour