Wasawasa
Overview
Wasawasa is made from yam peelings. Not yam, but the skin that most kitchens discard: dried, ground into flour, and steamed into a coarse grain that eats something like couscous. It is a dish that exists because nothing was wasted, and it has outlived the scarcity that produced it to become a food people specifically want. It belongs to Dagbon and the wider north of Ghana, and it is eaten in Burkina Faso and other parts of West Africa under related names. In Tamale and across the northern region it is street food and household food at once, sold with a hot pepper sauce and fried fish and often garnished with cabbage, carrot and sliced potato. The steaming happens twice, with a wash in between, which is the technical heart of the dish and the part that cannot be shortened. The flour is moistened until it forms small lumps, steamed, washed, drained, and steamed again on low heat, and only then is it dressed with groundnut oil and salt. That second steam is what turns it from damp meal into separate grains. It is served with beans, pasta or salad as well as the standard pepper sauce and fish, and it makes a full plate from an ingredient that costs almost nothing.
AFN Heritage Note
Wasawasa is documented as a dish of Dagbon and the northern region of Ghana, made from the dried and milled peelings of yam, and is also eaten in Burkina Faso. Its earliest documented date is uncertain.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Put water in a pot and bring it to the boil for 10 minutes.
- 2
Mix the yam flour, adding water a little at a time until it forms small smooth lumps.
- 3
Place a steamer over the boiling pot, pour in the mixed yam flour and steam for 20 minutes.
- 4
While the flour steams, heat oil in a pan and fry the fish.
- 5
Blend the garlic, onions, peppers, ginger and crayfish.
- 6
Pour the blended mixture into the oil, add salt and the seasoning cubes, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- 7
Take the steamed flour out, wash it, and leave it to drain for 10 minutes in a sieve.
- 8
Return the washed wasawasa to the steamer and steam over low heat for 15 minutes.
- 9
Turn the wasawasa onto a plate and work in salt and groundnut oil.
- 10
Serve with the pepper sauce and fried fish, or with vegetables or beans.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Debbie Obierika- The wash between the two steamings is not optional and is not a rinse for cleanliness. It rehydrates the grain and is what allows the second steam to separate it, and skipping it leaves you with a compacted mass.
- Add water to the flour a little at a time until small lumps form. Too much water at once gives a paste that will steam into a solid block.
- Drain properly for the full ten minutes after washing. Grain that goes back into the steamer waterlogged will not separate.
- The oil goes in at the very end, off the heat. It coats the separated grains rather than being cooked into them.
- Cabbage, carrot and sliced potato are the standard garnishes, and it is also served with beans, pasta or salad.
Reviews
5 reviews
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couldnt find yam peel flour anywhere here in seattle so i had to drive down to a west african store in tukwila. the steaming technique actually reminded me of prepping teff grain before making injera, though you don't ferment this one at all. that blend of ginger, tatashe peppers, and crayfish with the fried tilapia was so fragrant, filled the whole apartment. missing home a lot lately but this turned out great.
chale who uses olive oil for real wasawasa oo? Groundnut oil or proper shea butter is the only way paa! Aside from the oil choice, the recipe is okay. My grandmother in Northern Ghana always steamed the flour lumps twice over the boiling pot to get that deep dark texture right. The fried tilapia with ginger and crayfish pepper blend was spot on though.
Finding actual yam peel flour in Berlin is a serious quest abeg, ended up getting a small bag at an Afro shop near Wedding. Tatashe was sold out so I had to use red bell peppers with extra chilli instead. My steaming took more like 35 mins because my electric burner here is weak, but the crayfish pepper sauce over the tilapia made up for it.
herh, took me a week to track down proper black yam flour in peckham but it was worth the stress. followed the step to make the small flour lumps and steamed for 20 min over the boiling water. the smell when the crayfish, garlic and ginger hit the hot pan with the tilapia was unbelievable. tasted proper home style.
E sweet no be small thing o! Formed the yam flour lumps carefully with water so they wouldn't stick together into dough, then steamed for the full 20 minutes. That garlic, ginger and tatashe blend with the fried tilapia gave it the exact kick it needed. My husband finished his plate in five minutes sha.