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Bidrage med feedbackWhen it comes to African food, let alone Ghana food, I had no hint. Apart from the fact that Noah Galuten's blog, Man Bites World, has read about his departure to Nana and Naa, I have not done any other additional research before I went to this culinary jaunt. However, I did not go completely uninformed about how things worked at Nana Naa. I already knew the market was in the building and the restaurant part, consisting of tables and metal chairs covered by tents, behind the branch. I also knew that the access to the back of the restaurant meant going through the kitchen and what delicious flavors we inhale, as we made our way back. Before I come to dinner, I must mention this popular Ghanaian malt drink called Malta Hatuey, which we tried. Wow, that drink was fat. A sip felt as if it coated the interior of the mouth. It had an interesting taste. Of course the malt was there, but he also tasted a little like black candy. I'm a red grape, so that's not a drink I'd get back. I just thought I would mention it if you wanted to experience it for yourself. As far as food is concerned, it is difficult for me to determine which spices or herbs have been used. The food tasted differently than anything I ever had. Nothing I had was spicy, but everything was good and really tasted. We started with Deep Fried Tilapia on a bed of spinach with Yam and Egg. The yams were a bit dry, but the fish, fresh from the pan, was nice and crispy. The spinach was definitely mixed with other ingredients and then I thought of tomatoes and some nuts maybe, but I wasn't sure. After some online research I’m pretty sure that the spinach that came with the fish is called “Palava sauce”. The next dish was a Tilapia sown on a Bed of Black-Eyed Peas with Plantains and Egg. Again the fish was crispy. The fried plantains had a nice sweetness to them and these black eye beans were hearty, fleshy and with a small kick to them. This court is called Red-Red. Some sources I've read refer to the Bean Stew as a Red-Red or the Plane itself as a Red-Red. Regardless of this, this is a dish in which the beans and plantains seem to be connected forever. Two soups followed soon after the above two dishes together with the banku (fermented corn and casava ty) and the fufu (cassava), both strong sides that are used to suck the soup. One was the peanut butter soup with Tilapia, which is also called peanut soup. I had high expectations of this soup, based on my experience with Kare Kare, a Filipino dish that I grew up, which also consists of a Peanut Butter Sauce. When I saw my bowl, it seemed more like a tomato soup than anything else. If I immerse a piece of fufu in it, I could taste a little the peanut butter, but it was definitely overshadowed by the tomatoes. I still enjoyed the soup, but I just felt it was wrong. The second soup was simply called “Light Soup” and came with Beef. While sometimes served as an appetizer for a meal with fufu, it is also intended to help those who recur from disease if appropriately seasoned with ginger chili. “Light” is definitely a good description. It is the kind of soup that would be good to eat if you don't want anything too hearty, but only enough to suffer a little hunger. Rice and red beans with goats and Cassava Grains was the last dish of our meal. I couldn't find any reference to the Ghanaian name for this court. One thing I can say is that the rice and the red beans tasted similar to what you would expect to get a restaurant in the south or in the creole, although in this case the rice seemed more sown, maybe tomato base. I found that Cassava Grains are called Gari and are a lot of a clamp of the Ghanaian cuisine. Basically, Gari is made from fresh casava which is rubbed with the excess liquid pressed out. The remaining Kassava is then fried with an open fire, on a wide metal pan, which has been fried with a small oil that could be palm oil or other vegetable fat. The resulting product is crispy, easily stored and can be eaten with stew or soup or meat or fish. Overall, I really enjoyed the food. It is not a kitchen that I would eat regularly, just because from what we had, the whole meal was very strong and I like my vegetables. However, the flavors were unique and everything tasted good and you cannot beat the price. Between the 5 of us we spent around $12 for the entire meal.