Easy Ghanaian Waakye Recipe (Rice and Beans)

Waakye is a popular Ghanaian street food. Back home in Ghana, many family prefer to buy from a well known street food vendor than to cook it at home.
I think this may be, because of how time consuming it can be.
First one has to boil dried sorghum leaves to bring out the rich burgundy colour associated with waakye. Then black eyes peas is pre-soaked and added. Once the peas are cooked half way, then rice is added.

Sounds that simple but not until you have to be so careful with dealing the colour from sorghum leaves not leaving reddish stains behind.

As you may know already, I live in Finland and finding authentic Ghanaian ingredients is very rare. So I have adapted as usual. In this recipe,  I use either red beans or bicarbonate of soda to help achieve the waakye colour.

Two Basic recipe for you to try and let me know how you enjoyed this Ghanaian deli. 

1. Waakye with black eyed peas/bicarb soda.

  

   All you Need 

1 cup black eyed peas 

1 cup basmati rice

2 tblspn bicarbonate of soda 

Salt to taste 

   How to make 

Soak black eyed peas in cold water for 15 minutes or over night (This helps shortens cooking time).

Pour water out, add fresh water about 2 cups and bring to a boil.

Allow to boil until peas are half cooked( peas should have a bite to it when you taste).

Add soda and sold (try to add in the soda in bits as it tends to boil up sometimes). Stir together, wash rice and add in.

Cover with a cut baking sheet, to the size of your cooking saucepan and allow to boil 15 minutes stirring occasionally. 

Also have some boiled water ready and add in bits to rice until fully cooked.

Tip. Add the hot water between the stirring pauses and check if peas are cooked by pressing then between the thumb and forefinger. If the peas mashes effortlessly, by now the rice is also perfectly cooked. 

2. Waakye with red beans and rice.

  All you Need

1 cup red beans 

1 cup basmati rice 

Salt to taste 

   How to make.

Same procces as the recipe before but no soda added. 

Enjoy with Shito, gari, salad and meat stew.