Kaaweku: The staple food revered as a royal food in Ada

Food is usually named differently by various ethnic groups in Ghana. Mostly, these names describe the ingredients that make up the food or the components of the same.

This is same in the case of the royal food of the Ada people; Kaaweku. The name ‘Kaaweku’ is derived from two syllables – Kaawe which means Crab in the Ada language and ‘Ku’ which is taken from ‘banku’ because of its preparation which is similar to that of banku.

In other languages, this food made from roasted corn flour and palm nut soup has different names with the most common being ‘Apapransa’ as it is called by the Akans. In the Ewe language, it is called, Dzemkpl3, and in Ga, it is called ‘Akplijii’.

The People & Places crew decided to explore how this food is prepared and why it is deemed a royal food for the people of Ada.

The Paramount Queen mother of the Ada Traditional Area, NaaNa Kabukuor Dagojo Dumaaley I talking about this delicacy, explained that “At first, it used to be prepared on special occasions. It is a royal food, it is prepared for the chiefs and the queens during the festival. It is prepared during the installation of a chief or a queen, or during the birthday or any celebration but now we are in a modern world so you can prepare it on any day.”

The main ingredients used in preparing this food according to her include; palm nut, onions, pepper, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and other local spices with which the soup is prepared. Also, roasted corn flour is needed for the preparation of the mixture when the soup is ready. She also noted that the soup always needs to be well prepared such that it is very well cooked before the dough is added otherwise it could lead to stomach complications.

“It’s a delicacy almost everybody loves. It will surprise you that when we go for programmes and there’s Kaaweku and other food, that one gets finished first. If it is not well prepared and you have it, you will have a stomach upset.

“So make sure anytime you are preparing it, it is well prepared and by an Ada woman,” the queen mother further added.

She revealed more details about the preparation of this food in this video below: