1. Quick Cook - Rice (The Microwave edition)

Cooking rice isn't as easy as it seems. You put in too little water...your rice is tough. You put in too much water...your rice is too soft and mushy. Who knows, maybe you like your rice like that. Maybe you're trying to make omotuo (receipe coming later). If you do get the right amount of water then you have to set it on the fire and watch it carefully so that it doesn't burn at the bottom. AND IT TAKES SO LONG!!!

If you want a quick, easy and (almost) error proof way of cooking rice look no further!

The first step is to buy your rice.

There are different kinds of rice. White, brown, wild. Long, short, par-boiled (or not), basmati, texmati, jasmati, jasmine, savory etc. They all provide different flavours and cook differently but I prefer Basmati. Simply because the grains stay separate when cooked well and a small cup produces a large amount of rice.

You can find Basmati in most supermarkets these days. It can also be found in any store that sells indian or pakistani food stuff. Texmati and Jasmati are good substitutes but Basmati is the best.

Step two involves actually cooking it.

You will need:
1. A medium/large microwavable bowl
2. 2 cups of rice
3. 4 cups of water
4. A pinch of salt to taste
5. A microwave

First, put the two cups of rice into your microwavable bowl.
Wash the rice carefully with cold water, Pour out all the water. Wash the rice again with warm water.
Pour the water over the rice until the water level is an inch over the rice and stir in the salt. (You can adjust this level at your discretion once you do this a couple of times.)

Put the bowl in the microwave, choose the highest power setting and set the timer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes take the bowl out to check the rice. The water should be 3/4 or fully absorbed by the rice and the grain should break easily. If the rice is still firm add a 1/4 cup of water and stir into the rice.
Place back into the microwave and set the timer for 5 minutes.

Your rice is done!

Two cups usually serve 2 or 3 people depending on your appetites.

Now that you've figured out how to cook your rice all that's left is the stew!

Culture Shock

So you have arrived (or have been here a while). Where is here? Some country other than Ghana your motherland.
The food...well the food is not much to write home about is it? Bland, no spice, no pepper and sometimes....no sauce to go with the rice that they've cooked! :(

IF:
1) You miss the food of home
2) You never paid attention to what your mom/sister/househelp was doing in the kitchen and now regret it
3) You're too busy to spend the many hours it usually takes to make ghanaian food
4) You don't know where to find the right ingredients (or an equivalent).
5) You are away from home for the first time/have never cooked before...

then I'm here to help!
I aim to provide easy steps for cooking basic Ghanaian dishes. Stew, Jolof, Lightsoup etc using ingredients you can find at your local supermarket.
I'll also provide a database of hidden gems in major European and American cities. Ghanaian (or afro-caribbean) restaurants, bakeries and markets.