omo tuo — Ghana

Omo tuo, whose Twi name literally means “rice balls”, is a staple dish of Ghanaian home cooking built around rice rather than the cassava or plantain doughs more commonly served alongside soup in the region. It is eaten across Ghana, in homes and at chop bars, and appears on tables from the coast to the northern savanna, usually as the starchy centerpiece of a meal rather than a dish in its own right. The rice used is often described as “broken rice”, long-grain rice that has been milled or handled in a way that leaves many grains cracked; some cooks simply break long-grain rice by hand before cooking. It is boiled with more water than usual, well past the point most rice dishes are removed from the heat, so that the grains collapse into a soft, starchy mass rather than staying separate. Once cooked, the rice is pounded or kneaded while still hot, in a mortar or by hand using a plastic bag or wet cloth to protect the fingers, until it turns smooth and slightly elastic. Cooks then shape it into round or oval balls of varying size, which firm up a little as they cool and are served warm rather than piping hot. Omo tuo is set beside a bowl of soup, most often groundnut soup or palm-nut soup, occasionally a lighter pepper-based soup, and eaten by breaking off pieces of the ball to dip or mix into the soup along with fish, chicken or meat. Ghanaian versions of the dish are related to Hausa rice dishes found further north and in Nigeria, though the rice preparation and the soups served with it differ from place to place.