Nkrakra Recipe

Two days in Accra – Wish you were there.
I was in Accra last week for a short business trip. Of course I was not going to miss the opportunity to sniff out  some interesting dishes from Ghana. I am told that with my love for cooking and food I would easily belong to the Twi tribe. They seem to be the Efiks of Ghana.Maybe there is some linkage that dates back….who knows *wink *wink.

I stayed at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel and it was a jolly exciting week. The smell of the sea just wafts in the air as you take a walk through the vast expanse of the hotel environment. The beach front was too irresistible not to get the the waves on my feet so I took a brief walk on the beach . I came out  from that brief experience with good foot scrub from the beach sand and filled my lungs with good dose of oxygen.
As always you will find amateur Rastafarian artists hanging out on the beach to sell their wares. The artworks were too pricey so I skipped buying. Another Rastafarian comes along selling necklaces and actually offers a piece free and I still didn’t burge.These guys are determined sales men. I hope I will find out some day the attraction the water front holds for Rastafarians,they abound from the coast of Lagos to Cote d’Ivoire.
My lovely hostess Yvonne shared the recipe for Nkrakra ( light soup) a very common dish in Ghana . We  cooked a common rice dish which I will share soon on this blog. Yvvonne is such a good cook and it just makes life easy when you meet up with some that has the same passion for food. I wondered though how she manages to stay very slim with all the cooking. Lucky girl with high BMI( rate at which the body burns calories) burning
We went to one of the markets and I picked up   ingredients for Nkrakra which I put together when I got back to Lagos. Nkrakra  is a common dish in Ghana and the ingredients are not difficult to get in most markets across West Africa.The interesting thing about this soup is the ease of preparation and the lightness of it, particularly if you are having it on its own . Usually though it is accompanied with a carbohydrate side dish, fufu, Omo Tuwon, rice and so on.
I have added my twist to this dish with the garnishing of the soup with pieces of garden eggs. Nkrakra reminds me of Nigerian goat meat pepper soup but with addition of tomatoes and garden eggs. The spices combination makes this soup special and specific. The only oil in this soup comes from the goat meat so in effect it could be interesting for people looking at a low calorie soup.
Whilst in the market I stopped by the fresh coconut seller’s wheelbarrow and had fresh coconut juice drink ….one of my feel good thing when I visit Accra, I hardly miss the opportunity. Many thanks to Yvonne who made this trip interesting .
So go ahead and spoon up some Nkrakra.

Recipe
Goat meat( native goat)
1 small Onion
4 pieces green Scotch Bonnet Pepper
4 pieces red Scotch Bonnet Pepper
2 pieces yellow ScotchBonnet
3 pieces medium pieces Fresh Tomatoes
3 pieces Garden Eggs
4 pieces fresh Shrimps( for taste)
Seasoning to taste
Spices – Pinch Rosemary, 2balls Iwun ,( African nut meg, pinch ,Pinch Dill seed
Salt to taste
Water

Method
1,Season and steam goat meat with seasonings and  pinch of rosemary
2, Drop whole onion, peppers ,tomato and garden eggs into the meat pot to cook.

3, Crush  spices  and add to soup pot
4,Take out the vegetables when soft and blend till very smooth
5, Pass ground vegetable and meat stock through a sieve to get a very smooth puree.

6, Add more water, shrimps and cook vegetables until the raw taste of the vegetables disappear . That is soup tastes less sour.
5,  Correct seasoning and drop in chunks of garden eggs and cook for 2minutes
6, Serve with Eko.

Tip: Regulate the pepper content as you please.