Shito is undoubtedly one of the popular sauces in Ghana especially for students. It’s also normally referred to as student’s companions in school because most students can not go to school without them.
Shito is a spicy conventional Ghanaian sauce. Shito means spicy in Ga, a Ghanaian language from Accra, the Ghanaian capital.
The word for pepper is not the same for each one of the Ghanaian local languages.
Shitor din (black pepper), normally called ‘shito’, is generally used as the name for the hot black pepper sauce blended with spices everywhere in Ghanaian cuisine.
Shito is a black/dark brown pepper sauce that is popular in Ghana. It consists of kpakpo shito peppers mixed with spices. It goes really well with both fish and meat and can be plate up with most dishes.
Ghana shito can be put together with different dishes. These include kenkey, steamed rice, eba, and waakye (rice and beans). Actually, its uses can weigh up to that of local ketchup, hot sauce or chili oil. It can also be used for marinating or as a dressing, dip, spread or topping Ghanaian foods.
How to prepare shito
Ingredients
- 15 large onions
- 1 cup dried Herrings(smoothly crushed)
- 1 cup dried herrings roughly crushed
- 1 cup dried powdered shrimp
- 15 large fresh pepper
- 3 table spoons dried pepper powder
- 4 table spoons of tomato puree/paste
- Garlic, ginger, nutmeg, powdered cloves, food seasonings of choice
- Vegetable cooking oil
- Salt
Step by Step
- 1. Peel off the onions, ginger and garlic
- 2. Wash well and chop into big chunks
- 3. Put the onion chunks into a big pot of cooking oil
- 4. Add the ginger, garlic and pepper till nice and tender or for about 15-20 min
- 5. Take the vegetables from the oil and allow to cool a little bit
- 6. Put the oil back on the hub and add the tomato puree till it separated.
- 7. Blend the vegetables in the blender/processor
- 8. Add to the tomato puree
- 9. Keep stirring and allow to cook for about 10 -15 min, till there are some foams on the top of the sauce.
- 10. Add the dried ingredients, thus the powdered shrimps and herrings.
- 11. Add the seasoning
- 12. Add the dried powdered pepper
- 13. Allow to simmer on a low heat till the colour is dark brown.
- 14. Add the other preferred spices, eg nutmeg, cloves etc.
- 15. check for salt and add if needed
- 16. Allow to cool very well and put in a dry clean bottle and store for about 2-3 months with the oil on top of the sauce, however, keep refrigerated once it starts being consumed.
[…] is usually served with shito, diced or ground red and/or green pepper, and fried […]