Kuli-kuli is a
West African snack primarily made from
peanuts. First made by the Nupe People of West Africa it is a popular
snack
A snack is a small portion of food generally eaten between meals. Snacks come in a variety of forms including packaged snack foods and other processed foods, as well as items made from fresh ingredients at home.
Traditionally, snacks are p ...
in
Nigeria,
Benin, northern Cameroon and
Ghana. It is often eaten alone or with a mixture of
garri
In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root.
In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. For ...
also known as cassava flakes, sugar and water, popularly called "garri soakings". It is also eaten with
Hausa koko
Hausa koko also known as spicy millet porridge, is a Ghanaian street food commonly eaten as a breakfast meal. It can also be taken in late afternoon as snack. It is made from millet with a few local spices added to give it a particular taste and c ...
,
fura
Fura may refer to:
* Mount Fura (Mt Darwin) site of capital of Monomotapa kingdom in Zimbabwe
* Fura (food), Nigerian millet dough balls eaten with nono
* Fura (rapper), Indian rapper
* SEAT Fura supermini car produced by Spanish automaker SEAT, ...
, kamu; and is sometimes ground and put into
salad. It is often ground as used as an ingredient for
Suya
Suya or tsire is traditional smoked spiced meat skewer which originates from Northern Nigeria, Hausa Land and is a popular food item across West Africa. Suya (also pronounced Soya) is a big part of Hausa culture and food and is historically prep ...
and
Kilishi
Kilishi is a version of jerky that originated in Hausaland specifically Niger . It is a dried form of suya, made from cow, sheep or goat meat.
Meat
Firstly, remove the bone from the cow, sheep or goat meat, Each of the selected muscles is sl ...
.
Kuli-kuli is a byproduct of processing raw peanuts into peanut oil.
Ghanaian Kuli-Kuli
Kuli kuli (a groundnut/peanut cookie) in
Ghana just like in many parts of West Africa is a common crispy snack. The ingredients and shapes used however is not universal throughout the country. In the northern part of the country, especially among the
Dagbon
The Kingdom of Dagbon is one of the oldest and most organised traditional kingdoms in Ghana founded by the Dagomba people (Dagbamba) in the 11th century. During its rise, it comprised, at various points, the Northern Region (Ghana), Northern, Uppe ...
people, Kuli kuli is made from the residue gotten from groundnuts during the extraction of groundnut oil. It is mostly found in the Zongo communities in Ghana.
Preparation
To make kuli-kuli, peanuts are roasted and then ground into a paste called "Labu". The paste is then mixed with
spices,
salt, and sometimes ground
pepper
Pepper or peppers may refer to:
Food and spice
* Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant
** Black pepper
* ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae
** Bell pepper
** Chili ...
, and occasionally sugar. The paste is stripped of excess oil with water and made into the desired shape (round balls, cylinders, etc.). Adding
potash to the oil increases the boiling point of the oil. This results in oils being extracted from the kuli-kuli so that more liquid oil is created than when the process started. While being heated and
fried, the shaped peanut-paste begins to solidify and harden. It is then removed from the oil and allowed to cool down until ready to be eaten. It has a very long shelf life and is often given to children as a treat or sold in taxi parks by teenage girls to hungry travelers.
All aspects of producing and selling the peanut oil and kuli-kuli are socially considered 'woman's work'. Quite often, women control all aspects of kuli-kuli production and sales. Women grow the crop, extract and refine the oil, cook the kuli-kuli, carry it to the market, and sell it. In many cultural groups, this is considered 'her (personal) money' generated to spend as she deems fit. In contrast, a man growing peanuts is more likely to sell his entire crop of 100 kilo bags wholesale. The wholesaler will be responsible for transportation.
Health Benefits
Kuli-Kuli contains
proteins
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
because of the peanuts from which it is made. It also contains
Magnesium,
Phosphorus and
Vitamin E.
Gallery
File:Food creation - Making of a local delicacy called Kulikuli.jpg, Making kuli-kuli in Ghana
File:Kulikuli made in Bongo, Upper East Region, Ghana.png, Kulu-kuli made in Bongo
Bongo may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Bongo'' (Australian TV series), on air from August to November 1960
* Bongo Comics, a comic book publishing company
* Bongo (''Dragon Ball'') or Krillin, a character in ''Dragon Ball'' media
* ''Bongo'' ...
File:Kuli kuli, a local snack.jpg, Kuli kuli, a local snack
See also
*
List of African dishes
There is a list of dishes found in African cuisine, a generalized term collectively referring to the cuisines of Africa. The continent of Africa is the second-largest landmass on Earth, and is home to hundreds of different cultural and Ethnic gro ...
*
Hausa People
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuli-Kuli
Nigerian cuisine
Nigerien cuisine
Ghanaian cuisine
Beninese cuisine
Cameroonian cuisine
Legume dishes
National dishes