Kenkey
Encyclopedia
Kenkey or Dokonu or Komi is a staple dish
similar to a sourdough
dumpling
from the Akan
, Ga
and Ewe
inhabited regions of West Africa
, usually served with a soup
, stew
, or sauce
. Areas where Kenkey are eaten are southern Ghana
, eastern Côte d'Ivoire
, Togo
, western Benin
and Jamaica
. It is usually made from ground corn (maize
), like sadza
and ugali
. Unlike ugali, making kenkey involves letting the maize ferment
before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana
leaves, corn
husks, or foil
, and steamed. There are several versions of Kenkey, such as Ga and Fanti kenkey.
Soak the dry corn in water. After three days drain and wash the corn in fresh water. Grind it and add some water to make it into a dough with a smooth surface. Keep it in a warm place to ferment for two to three days before using it to prepare the kenkey. Before using it for the preparation the mouldy surface on top should be removed and discarded.
The water used in boiling the kenkey is used as a drink when a maize or corn husks is used as the wrapper for cooking the kenkey. This water is called otinshi nu.
Note: Ready-to-use fermented cornmeal dough made especially for banku and kenkey may be available at African grocery stores and should be prepared according to package instructions.
Staple food
A staple food is one that is eaten regularly and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a diet, and that supplies a high proportion of energy and nutrient needs. Most people live on a diet based on one or more staples...
similar to a sourdough
Sourdough
Sourdough is a dough containing a Lactobacillus culture, usually in symbiotic combination with yeasts. It is one of two principal means of biological leavening in bread baking, along with the use of cultivated forms of yeast . It is of particular importance in baking rye-based breads, where yeast...
dumpling
Dumpling
Dumplings are cooked balls of dough. They are based on flour, potatoes or bread, and may include meat, fish, vegetables, or sweets. They may be cooked by boiling, steaming, simmering, frying, or baking. They may have a filling, or there may be other ingredients mixed into the dough. Dumplings may...
from the Akan
Akan people
The Akan people are an ethnic group found predominately in Ghana and The Ivory Coast. Akans are the majority in both of these countries and overall have a population of over 20 million people.The Akan speak Kwa languages-Origin and ethnogenesis:...
, Ga
Ga people
The Ga-Adangbe are an ethnic group in the West African nation of Ghana. It is part of the Dangme ethnic group. The Ga people are grouped as part of theGa–Dangme ethnolinguistic group. They speak Kwa languages...
and Ewe
Ewe people
The Ewe are a people located in the southeast corner of Ghana, east of the Volta River, in an area now described as the Volta Region, in southern Togo and western Benin...
inhabited regions of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, usually served with a soup
Soup
Soup is a generally warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and vegetables with stock, juice, water, or another liquid. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth.Traditionally,...
, stew
Stew
A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables , meat, especially tougher meats suitable for slow-cooking, such as beef. Poultry, sausages, and seafood are also used...
, or sauce
Sauce
In cooking, a sauce is liquid, creaming or semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish. Sauce is a French word taken from the Latin salsus, meaning salted...
. Areas where Kenkey are eaten are southern Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, eastern Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
, Togo
Togo
Togo, officially the Togolese Republic , is a country in West Africa bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, on which the capital Lomé is located. Togo covers an area of approximately with a population of approximately...
, western Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. It is usually made from ground corn (maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
), like sadza
Sadza
Sadza in Shona, Isitshwala in isiNdebele, pap in South Africa or nsima in the Chichewa language of Malawi, is a cooked corn meal that is the staple food in Zimbabwe and other parts of southern and eastern Africa. This food is cooked widely in other countries of the region.Sadza in appearance is a...
and ugali
Ugali
Ugali is an East African dish of maize flour cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch of much of Eastern and Southern Africa...
. Unlike ugali, making kenkey involves letting the maize ferment
Fermentation (food)
Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...
before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
leaves, corn
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
husks, or foil
Aluminium foil
Aluminium foil is aluminium prepared in thin metal leaves, with a thickness less than , thinner gauges down to are also commonly used. In the USA, foils are commonly gauged in mils. Standard household foil is typically thick and heavy duty household foil is typically .The foil is pliable, and...
, and steamed. There are several versions of Kenkey, such as Ga and Fanti kenkey.
Ingredients
- 6-8 cups of corn (maize) flour or cornmeal (ground corn or ground maize); (White cornmeal is preferred, it should be finely ground, like flour. Latin American style corn flour, as is used in tortillas, tamales, pupusas, etc. is the right kind)
- Banana leaves, or maize or corn husks, or aluminum foil to wrap dough in (the leaves or husks may be available at African, Asian, or Latino groceries)
Traditional method
In a large container combine the corn flour (or corn flour and grated cassava) with just enough warm water to dampen all of it. Mix well. Cover the container with a clean cloth. Set it in a warm place, such as a warmed oven or on top of the refrigerator, for two to three days. Fermentation may take longer than two days, especially in cool climates. (Note: a warmed oven is an oven that has been heated for a few minutes then turned off. The flour should ferment, not cook.) When it is properly fermented, it should have a slightly sour, but not unpleasant, aroma,like rising bread dough. Overly fermented corn flour will not taste right.Alternate method
Prepare the corn flour as described above, and let it ferment for about six hours. Then mix one tablespoon of vinegar into the wet corn flour.Soak the dry corn in water. After three days drain and wash the corn in fresh water. Grind it and add some water to make it into a dough with a smooth surface. Keep it in a warm place to ferment for two to three days before using it to prepare the kenkey. Before using it for the preparation the mouldy surface on top should be removed and discarded.
Kenkey
- Knead the fermented dough with your hands until it is thoroughly mixed and slightly stiffened.
- In a large pot, bring one cup of water to a boil. Slowly add one part of the fermented dough. Cook for about ten minutes, stirring constantly and vigorously. Remove from heat. This half of the dough is called the "aflata".
- Combine the aflata with the remaining uncooked dough. Mix well. The proportion of raw dough to aflata determines the softness of the kenkey after cooking.
- Divide the aflata-dough mixture into serving-sized pieces. Wrap the pieces tightly in banana leaf, maizeMaizeMaize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
or corn husks, or foil. Banana leaves are more flexible if they have been briefly warmed in a hot oven or a pot of boiling water. The wrapped dough should look like burritos or tamales. Cooking string can be used to tie the wrapping closed. - Place the wrapped dough packets on a wire rack above water in a large pot. Bring to a boil and steam for one to three hours, depending on their size and thickness. Serve room-temperature.
- Ga Kenkey is usually served hot with a red pepper sauce made of ground chili pepperChili pepperChili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
, onions and tomatoes; and a black pepper sauce locally called shitoShitoShitor Din, commonly called Shito is the word for pepper in the Ghanaian native language of the capital Accra. Whilst the word for pepper is different for each of the Ghanaian native languages, the word 'Shito' is widely used as the name for the hot black pepper sauce ubiquitous in Ghanaian cuisine...
. - Fanti Kenkey is usually served warm with tomato gravy or palaver saucePalaver saucePalaver sauce or Palava sauce is a type of stew widely eaten in West Africa, including Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. The word palaver comes from the Portuguese language and means a talk, lengthy debate or quarrel. It is unclear how this led to the name of the stew...
. It may also go with any fish, poultry, or meat dish from Western Africa. In Ghana, guests are often served Fanti Kenkey with red pepper sauce and canned sardines or fried fish, especially if they have arrived unannounced or after the family's evening meals.
The water used in boiling the kenkey is used as a drink when a maize or corn husks is used as the wrapper for cooking the kenkey. This water is called otinshi nu.
Note: Ready-to-use fermented cornmeal dough made especially for banku and kenkey may be available at African grocery stores and should be prepared according to package instructions.