GHANA RECIPES (RED-RED)

Red-red is a popular dish in Ghana, and it is normally made with vegetarians in mind. It very delicious.

Red-red is a Ghanaian stew made from beans, and it gets the red color from the red palm oil that they use to prepare the stew. In most places, it will also be prepared with tomato paste. It is most common to find it with black eyed beans, but any beans will do.

Palm oil is common in Ghana, and you will see them sold in plastic bottles in the markets. Worldwide there are discussions on the impact of the palm oil production on the environment and on animal species.

Ingredients:

250 grams dry black eyed beans
2.5 dl palm oil (the red type)
4 red onions, medium sized
1 tbsp tomato puree                                         

3 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 vegetable, fish or prawn stock cube
1 can adzuki beans
1 scotch bonnet pepper, left whole
1-2 red chili
2-3 cm fresh ginger
3 cloves of garlic
2-3 dl water
2 teaspoon salt to taste


Method

1. Wash and boil the beans for about 30 minutes or till soft. Drain them and put aside.

2. Heat up the palm oil and chopped onions and fry in a pan until golden. Add tomato paste and chopped chili, ginger and garlic, then chopped tomatoes, water, salt, followed by the stock cube and allow to fry and reduce for 10 minutes.

3.  Add the beans, including bean juice in can. Add the whole scotch bonnet to release flavour without too much heat and bring to a simmer.

In the traditional cooking in Ghana, the onion, chili, ginger, garlic and tomatoes will be grounded to a smooth paste. You can chop it in small chunks.

If you have access to plantain: remove the peel, and chop the plantain in small pieces. Use your favorite oil to fry the banana until soft with a brownish color. Remove them from the oil, and drain on a kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt and other spices if you wish. 

If you don´t have access to plantain, the red-red can be served with boiled rice.