Aprapransa

Aprapransa, originally called 'Akplijii(or Akplidzi)' is a local GaDangme(or Ga) dish prepared by heat mixing(or blending) roasted corn flour with a sacred GaDangme(or Ga) soup called 'Palm Nut Soup'. As a point of emphasis, 'Palm Nut Soup', an important base ingredient in the preparation of 'Akplijii(or Akplidzi)', is an ancient sacred soup of the GaDangme(or Ga) people, and is always prepared as a complement to another sacred corn flour meal called 'Kpokpoi(or Kpekpele)' during an 'Ancient Religious Hebraic Harvest Festival' called 'Homowo'. The GaDangme(or Ga) people brought these practices along with them to 'Ancient-Ghana' and taught all the tribes how to prepare this delicious 'Palm Nut Soup', just like the 'Akans' taught all the tribes how to prepare their delicious soup called 'Abunebunu(or Ebunuebunu)'. It is worth mentioning that outside Ghana, other tribes such as the Yorubas, Igbos, etc. in Nigeria process 'Palm Nut' in a similar yet different fashion into soup called 'Banga Soup'. Over the course of time, the knowledge of the preparation of 'Palm Nut Soup' in Ghana became common and it lost it sacred status. It may interest Ghanaians to know that the GaDangme(or Ga) people have from 'ancient time' to 'present day', used the palm tree in a number of sacred ways; namely, (1) To prepare a sacred soup called 'Palm Nut Soup', (an important base ingredient of Aprapransa, originally called Akplijii), (2) The burning of the dry figs as incense for spiritual cleansing and to ward-off evil spirits, (3) To build new houses every year made up of new palm tree branches ( i.e new houses every 'Afi...OOO...Afi' ) which in our present day has been seriously reduced in practice because of embraced modernity in socio-cultural attitudes, (4) etc. The sacred uses of palm tree is not unique to the GaDangme(or Ga)-Tribe, for it is a common practice among several other tribes in the 'Congo-Niger Family'(or Bantu-Zone) of Africa. Akplijii(or Akplidzi) also known as Aprapransa is[1] a food that is served on special occasions and it is feared to go extinct.[2][3][4]

Aprapransa in a Pack
Aprapransa
Aprapransa garnished with crabs
Place of originGhana
Created byGaDangme people
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsRoasted corn flour, palm oil, vegetables, seafood

Aprapransa as a complete meal is not a food that is commonly found on the streets of Ghana or is prepared every day in the house. It is usually served by the Akan tribe on special occasions such as marriage ceremonies, naming ceremonies, birthday celebrations, family cookouts, etc.[5] Its name derived from the fact that it is a complete meal with its soup/stew integrated that one only needs to wipe their hand (prapra wo nsa) to eat.

Ingredients and preparation

The main ingredients are roasted corn flour (Tom brown) and palmnut or palm oil. Other ingredients include beans, vegetables such as tomatoes, onion,[6] pepper, ginger, or garlic.[7] It features seafood such as smoked fish, dried fish, salted fish or crabs.[6][7]

To prepare the dish, start the soup by boiling the palm nuts, pound and sieve to extract the palm juice. Steam the fish/meat with the ingredients for about ten minutes then pour the palm nut juice into the pot to cook for about 30 minutes.

When the soup is well-cooked, some of the palm oil is scooped and some meat taken out for garnishing. A mixing spoon is washed and ready as the fried-corn flour is gradually added to the soup while it is stirred continuously to prevent it from lumping. Water is added if the texture is too thick.

After about twenty minutes, the cooked kidney beans are poured into the broth and stirred to mix. In about ten minutes, after adding the beans it must be well-cooked and ready to be served.

If stew is to be used instead, then the vegetables are fried in palm oil, adding seafood and group pepper. Water and corn flour are added and the dish is brought to a boil. It is simmered until cooked and served hot.[6]

Roasted corn flour can either be purchased at Ghanaian markets or made from plain corn flour in a pan.[8]

See also

References
  1. (1) Online Reference, By J DZ eagu-kudjodji and others, (2) A grammatical sketch of the Akra or Ga-Language - By Johannes Zimmermann, (3) THE OUTDOORING DEDICATION AND NAMING OF AN AFRICAN CHILD. A CEREMONY OF THE GADANGME PEOPLE OF SOUTHEASTERN GHANA - Ganyobi Kpojiemo, vol. 1 by Ernest H.C. Tetteh, (4) NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE: Palm Oil is unavoidable. Can it be sustainable, December 2018 Issue, www.nationalgeographic.com
  2. "17 Bowls Of Aprapransa That Will Make You Run To That Chop Bar Now". OMGVoice.com. 2017-02-09. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  3. Afful, Maame Aba. "How to prepare Aprapransa". Primenewsghana.com. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  4. Online, Peace FM. "Five Ghanaian Meals That May Be Going Extinct". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  5. Partner, Content. "Efie Aduane Series: Aprapransa from the Eastern Region". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  6. "MOFA".
  7. "Recipes: How to prepare Aprapransa using palm nut soup". www.ghanaweb.com. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  8. Somuah-Annan, Grace Afua. "How to prepare Aprapransa". Retrieved 2018-09-17.
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