In Celebrating 400 Years of African Resilience, I Found a Culinary Masterpiece
In search of one dish, I found another
When I flew to Ghana during the Year of Return, I hoped to learn more about Ghanaian dishes. My search for one thing on my list — koobi egg stew — led to my discovery of one I hadn’t heard of: palava sauce, which ended up being one of my favorite meals in the country.
Upon my arrival in July, I found myself celebrating 400 years of African resilience in many ways — but mainly in search of dishes I had heard about. I rode in numerous taxis or walked along the red roads of Accra, eagerly searching for koobi egg stew in every corner of the city. I questioned everyone: a bartender at a bar favored by locals, a food stall owner in Accra’s lauded Osu Night Market, my Uber driver, my Airbnb host’s cousin’s friend — everyone.
And the responses? Uncertainty, signals that they’d ask a friend for suggestions, and most notably, a confused look that said, “Why this dish?” Of all the Ghanaian meals to indulge in, like red red, waakye, and banku and fish, why bother with this one?
It was a worthwhile question. Having visited Ghana before, I’d tried my share of Ghanaian dishes. With this return, though, I wanted to broaden my knowledge of Ghanaian cuisine by searching for certain foods…
