CRAVING FOR TOM BROWN

So I woke up this morning with a craving for Tom Brown as you might have obviously guessed. (Ahem, you can lower your eyebrows now. ) Tom Brown (though for the love of God I don't know who came up with that name) is a local porridge made out of roasted corn ground into flour. It is then mixed into a light paste. Water is brought to boil and the paste is added. This is stirred for a few minutes to prevent lumps whilst the porridge is brought to a simmer.

I clearly remember my mother's handwritten menu in which Saturday mornings alternated between Tom Brown and Rice Water. However, it wasn't until recently that I truly started to appreciate this porridge. Eaten warm, it leaves a taste very similar to the milky goodness of 'Ayigbe toffee'(a local condiment quite like caramel) with a touch of corn. It is healthy and nutritious as most of the packaged flour now contain soy beans, wheat and other leguminous products. Also, compared to before when one 's choices were limited to sugar to taste and evaporated milk (Do you remember Ideal and Carnation?I think they were the only two brands in the market or the only two that mattered,anyway.) if you were lucky; now people have gotten inventive. It is eaten with honey, yogurt and nuts.

Personally, I recommend adding lots of milk and enough sugar, dish it out real nice, watch the milk swirl over the brown porridge beautifully, take a deep breath and enjoy.

#foodninja

#tom brown moments

For love of T.Z

      

Honestly, I still have no idea what on earth possessed me to say yes or anything close to it to my friend Sandra. So the simple mass we would attend turned into an all night service. And the simple procession was not quite so simple. In fact, we WALKED for TEN HOURS. Even the memory of it tires me out.

Reluctantly though I must admit it was a fun experience and a time for many firsts. First time I slept on the floor of a church corridor (or a church for that matter), first time I walked that distance(and might I add; the last), first time I sat in the bucket of a pick up and first time I ate 'Tuo Zaafi' popularly referred to as T.Z.

I knew very little about the dish besides the fact that it was indigenous to the Northern region of Ghana and was said to be similar to akple (the dish indigenous to the Volta region ). Settling down in the shack like chop bar where incredible cauldrons containing soups were set on firewood. Honestly, I had never seen such sheer large quantities of meat and eggs and soup.(so much soup). Other huge metal pots could be seen through the slabs of wood that were boarded together to create this T.Z joint,where women tirelessly and relentlessly drove the corn flour and cassava flour paste over large fires.

The green leaves soup as I called it at that time, I must admit, looked more than a bit strange to me. It was in many ways similar to Okro soup which I was used to and yet different. All of this reticence only played for a split second in my mind as I attacked the food. The first morsel in my mouth had my eyes bulging out and had my taste buds doing the happy song. The 'Tuo zaafi' dish arguably was the softest traditional dish we had. On its own, it didn't really have a distinctly strong taste. Just a whiff of the corn and cassava that came together superbly to create this wonder. The soup though made of 'ayoyo' leaves (as I came to learn) and beaten with a broom(yup, my sentiments exactly. Don't worry though. It is totally hygienic) to get the slimy nature(like that of okro soup) was for lack of a better word; amazing. It had just the right amount of seasoning and it was hot and spicy(they have less hot and spicy soups too). I was in heaven right there. All I can say is did I say it was my last time making he trip?

So I am sure some of you are saying it was the hunger talking and nothing else. I know, I know...which is why I tried my new discovery out on campus when I came by. The joint near the arts faculty is rather popular so I tried it out expecting to be disappointed. Even though she wasn't as generous with her meat or with her spices, I came to a conclusion.

There is no round dish quite like this one.

#food ninja

#in love with 'tuo zaafi'