Waakye is a delicacy  made by the Ghanaians, Togolese and partly Badagry people. It is prepared with brown rice and beans and millet sticks, poroporo leaf. It tastes really good. Waakye is better served with wele stew. Wele stew is cooked with crayfish, fish, turkey and meat.

Ingredients 

Brown Rice

Beans

Millet sticks (Poroporo) or millet stalks

Medium Tilapia

Wele (cow skin) cut into sizeable pieces

Tomatoes

Onions

Peppers

Cooking oil

Seasoning

Salt

Black Pepper

Preparations

You may soak your beans before cooking it so as to soften them and reduce cooking time.

STEP1

Marinade your fish, meat, turkey, cow skin with seasoning and salt, black pepper and leave overnight before you fry it.

STEP2

Wash the millet stalks to remove any dirt or dust. Do this quickly since the colour starts to run as soon as they get wet. Cut them into lengths of 3 to 4 inches, toss them in with the boiling beans and allow them to cook together.

STEP3

Pick through the brown rice if you have to. There are a few husks of rice that are better not found in the waakye as well as stones depending on how “brown” your rice is.

Wash and drain your rice and add it to the beans as soon as they are cooked, add salt and some water if necessary and cook as you would cook rice. Use the millet stalks and cook the rice with them.

STEP4

Blend the tomatoes and pepper. Chop the onions and heat about two tablespoons of cooking oil and start frying the onions.

When the onions turn translucent and just start to brown around the edges, add the tomato puree.

Add seasoning and little salt and cover for about five minutes to allow the tomatoes to cook.

Uncover and allow the sauce to simmer and start to fry. Fry the stew till it is dry and almost sticky.

STEP5

Add the wele and some water depending on how thick or tough your wele is. The tougher it is, the more water you will need. Cover and simmer on a low fire when the stew thickens and the wele is the desired texture.

STEP6

Heat oil in a pan. When it is hot, lower the heat and gently place the fish into it making sure to space them enough that they don’t touch.

STEP7

Using a spatula or fork, turn the fish, if there is significant resistance, leave it for a minute or so, and then try turning again, when it is ready, it should turn easily. When it is evenly cooked, remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Continue till all the fish is fried.

Serve the waakye with the fish and wele stew.