Madam Fati Dauda, a fried yam seller at Tema Community One, has advised yam sellers and the public not to discard their yam peels into the bin but rather process them into wasawasa food.
Madam Dauda, who has been in the fried yam business for many years, said throwing away yam peels amounted to wastage of food.
In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), she said wasawasa was a traditional delicacy for the people of Northern Ghana that was prepared from dried yam peels.
She said most Ghanaian homes, especially those of the southerners, often discard their yam peels and encouraged people to try and use them as well for such nutritious meal.
Taking the GNA through the preparation of the food, Madam Dauda said the peel must be thoroughly washed and dried in the sun until they were crispy.
She said when properly dried, the brownish first coat of the peel would automatically fall off, and the dried peels were then milled into flour for the preparation of the wasawasa.
Madam Dauda said the flour is subsequently steamed until well cooked, and salt was added and stirred to break lumps that might have formed during the cooking.
She said, just like waakye, wasawasa could be eaten with pepper, tomato sauce, gari, salad, fish, and other accompaniments.
As a unique food, the preparation of wasawasa required a high level of good hygiene to avoid any form of contamination of the food.
GNA
LS/CAA/AD
16 March 04
Caption: TM054 Yam Wasawasa pic 1
