Palava sauce - deliciously improvised, trust me!

Hi there!

There’s another video in the house!!! And guess what? It’s an improv!

An improvised what? Well... an improv of the original palava sauce!!! 

So, in Ghana, palava sauce, like most foods have different variants when it comes to how it’s made, how it tastes, how it’s everything... but one thing that is a constant... that makes any palava sauce a palava sauce is... drum roll 🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁... it has both kontomire and agushi!!! Bingo!!

Kontomire is what we call cocoyam leaves... and agushi are a kind of melon seeds (which are often dried, ‘dehusked’ and ground into a powder for most dishes, also known as aguse, egushi, akatoa, etc). Now the reason why it’s called palava sauce is that, it’s alleged to be so tasty, if you make it, there should be palaver in your house because people may ‘fight’ over it. If there’s another reason why it’s called palaver sauce, then I surely don’t know but don’t hesitate to share this with us... we just love foodie stories...

Now the dilemma in making this beloved dish outside a region that doesn’t grow cocoyams or sell agushi is... you guessed absolutely right!!! You lose out on making it at all 😱

So one day in such a space, I set out to curb an absolute craving for this lovely dish and eventually I got to making palava sauce without the palaver of not having these ingredients... introducing... spinach and eggs... tah-dahhhh!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Now this is super close, and just tasty 😋. Yes, nothing beats an original palava sauce with original ingredients but I’m definitely sure that if you’ve missed palava sauce the way I had, you will by no means be disappointed. 

Ready for our improv palava sauce? Sit back, relax, and my be enticed to try it too 🎉

🙈 I forgot to add to this video: this recipe makes 3 - 4 servings 😁. 

I must add at this point that I’m super grateful to Dorcas Adomako Nyamekye, Irene Appiah Kubi and Frances Thelma Owusu-Daaku for helping me out with the other agushi names. 

So, do give today’s improv recipe a try, especially if you’re foodie homesick and really miss that good ol’ palava sauce. And yes, as always, till we meet again here at Ndudu Tales, do remember to make your foodie experiences awesome!

Thank you for reading our Ndudu tale today. If you learnt something new or simply enjoyed it, do share with others, like or comment below... or do all 3! We appreciate your time spent here ☺️