Fante Kenkey is a classic and traditional carbohydrate staple from Ghana made with a maize meal dough that’s steamed in maize (corn) husks or plantain leaves. Kenkey is produced by steeping grains of maize in water for about one week, before they are then milled and kneaded with water into a dough. The dough is allowed to ferment for four days to a week before part of the dough is cooked. To prepare from scratch, corn meal is mixed with cornflour (cornstarch) and water is added until a smooth and consistent dough is obtained. It is covered and left in a warm place for the fermentation to take place. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in banana leaves, corn husks, or foil, and steamed. Typically pre-fermented kenkey dough or paste is bought and the final part of cooking is done at home.
Prep Time: 45 minutes mins/Cook Time: 30 minutes mins/Makes: 8 packets
Ingredients:
1l (4 cups) kenkey dough
dried plantain leaves
Corn husk
Water
Salt
Instructions:
Take 2/3 of the kenkey dough and mix with 500ml (2 cups) of water. Season with a little salt then cook the mixture for 10 minutes until the dough is partway done.
Place the mixture into a bowl and mix in the remaining (raw) kenkey dough. Shape this mixture into squares, balls or conical sections.
Wrap the dough with corn husks or plantain leaves that have been heated over a fire to make them pliable.
Arrange some corn husks or plantain leaf pieces in the base of a large cooking pot. Pour in water to come to the top of the leaves then arrange the kenkey packets on top. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and steam for about 40 minutes, or until the kenkey is well cooked.
Serve with any stew or soup of your choice. You can also used to prepare mashed kenkey.
