Kenkey or
kormi or
Kokoe or
Dorkunu is a
staple dish similar to
sourdough dumpling from the
Ga,
Akan and
Ewe inhabited regions of
West Africa, usually served with
soup,
stew, or
sauce. Areas where kenkey is eaten are
Ghana, eastern
Côte d'Ivoire,
Togo, western
Benin,
Guyana (where it is known as "konkee"), and
Jamaica. It is usually made from ground corn (
maize), like
sadza and
ugali. It is also known in Jamaica as dokunoo, dokono, dokunu, (the
Asante refer to the same dish as 'Dɔkono' pronounced as 'Dorkono'), blue drawers, and tie-a-leaf. In
Trinidad it is called "paime" (pay-me) and differs in that it does not contain plantain but may include pumpkin and coconut. In the
cuisine of the Caribbean, it is made with
cornmeal, plantain, green banana, sweet potato(Asante and Jamaican version, which came from the Asanti version) or cassava, wrapped in banana leaves. The food is derived from African cooking traditions. Unlike ugali, making kenkey involves letting the maize
ferment before cooking. Therefore, preparation takes a few days in order to let the dough ferment. After fermentation, the kenkey is partially cooked, wrapped in
banana leaves,
corn husks, or
foil, and steamed. There are several versions of kenkey, such as
Ga and
Fante kenkey.The Ga kenkey is more widespread in most parts of Ghana.
