Tuo Zaafi — Ghana

Tuo zaafi, often shortened to TZ, is a stiff, elastic porridge eaten across northern Ghana. Rolled and shaped by hand until smooth, it is torn into small pieces and dipped into a soup rather than eaten with a spoon. The dish is reported as a staple food throughout northern Ghana, among Dagomba, Mamprusi, Gonja and neighbouring communities, where millet and maize are the dominant grain crops and are grown widely. To prepare it, millet or maize flour is stirred into boiling water together with a little cassava flour and a spoonful of ground okra or ayoyo leaf, which gives the porridge its characteristic stretch. The mixture is beaten vigorously with a wooden ladle until it turns smooth, glossy and lump-free, then shaped into a ball with a wet hand. It is served with a soup built on tomatoes, onion, dawadawa (fermented locust bean seasoning), and meat or fish, with leafy green soup a common pairing. What distinguishes this version is the balance of grains used — millet, maize or a mix of the two — and the choice of accompanying soup, both of which shift from household to household within the same region rather than following one fixed recipe.