Ghana

Ghanaian cooking is proud, spiced and generous. Jollof rice — smoky, deep red, cooked long enough to catch a crust at the bottom of the pot — is a source of national pride and gentle rivalry with the neighbours. Beside it, chicken suya rubbed with ground peanut and chilli, red-red simmered with palm oil and black-eyed peas, and a scoop of shito on the side.

Sunday lunch is a whole ritual. Fufu pounded fresh, groundnut soup simmered for hours, kelewele of fried plantain sweet and sharp with ginger. The table fills, and the afternoon slows down.