Waakye
Ghana's signature rice-and-beans breakfast, tinted red-brown by dried sorghum leaves. Served with sliced boiled egg and shito chili.
- prep 15 min
- cook 70 min
- total 85 min
- serves 4
- easy
- vegetarian
- Ghana
Ingredients
- 350 g long-grain rice
- 200 g black-eyed peas
- 15 g sorghum leaves
- 4 whole eggs
- 4 tbsp shito (Ghanaian chili sauce)
Steps
- Soak black-eyed peas overnight in cold water.
- Tie sorghum leaves (or a piece of foil-wrapped baking soda) into a small bundle for coloring.
- Simmer the beans with the sorghum bundle and a generous pinch of salt for 40 minutes until nearly tender.
- Stir in the rinsed long-grain rice and enough water to cover by 2cm.
- Cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes without opening the lid.
- Remove the sorghum bundle; fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, hard-boil eggs and slice into halves.
- Serve waakye topped with sliced egg, a drizzle of shito, and a spoon of fried plantain if you have it.
Tips
- Sorghum leaves are available frozen at African grocers; a pinch of baking soda gives similar color.
- Traditional Ghanaian breakfast — but works any meal.
≈ 480 kcal · 22 g protein · 82 g carbs · 8 g fat — per serving, estimate