Ghana Month: ‘Tuo Zaafi’ and ‘Ayoyo’ soup, Indigenous Finger-Licking Meal To Chase any day

When was the very last time you ate Tuo Zaafi popularly known as TZ?

‘Yaade?’, I mean how are you?

Today, The Ghana Report’s special edition of the Ghana Month Diary is taking you to the Northern Region, where ‘Tuo Zaafi’ and ‘Ayoyo’ originated to become one of Ghana’s favourite meals.

The word ‘Tuo Zaafi’ is a Hausa word that means ‘stirring or paddling it hot’ because ‘Tuo’ means stirring or paddling’ and ‘Zaafi’ means hot.

The food can be prepared from maize or millet.

Apart from Ghana, the food can be found in other West African countries like Nigeria, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Mali,    and Niger.

This delicious meal can be enjoyed at any time of the day with any soup of your choice but the common soup associated with it is the ‘Ayoyo soup’.

How do we prepare this sumptuous Tuo Zaafi?

Preparing TZ is very simple. Follow these few steps to prepare your own ‘Tuo Zaafi’ at home.

• Get water and mix some small flour in it to stir to get a perfect mixture.
• Put your cooking pot saucepan on the fire with some water in it and let it boil.
• Pour the mixture of the flour into the boiling water on the fire and stir with a spatula till it becomes like porridge.
• Remove the spatula and cover it with a lid for the mixture to boil for some minutes.
• Now add more flour to the mixture and stir it on the fire till it gets to the stage that will be enough for the family.
• Continue to stir till it is smooth and only a bit harder because it must not be hard like ‘banku’.
• You then put it in a bowl and pour the soup on it to enjoy your meal.

With the ‘Ayoyo soup’,  you will need Jute leaves known as ‘Ayoyo’ leaves,  Saltpetre known as ‘kawu’, water, your fresh meat, fish or crabs, vegetables, salt, and other spices of your choice.

Follow these steps below to make your palatable ‘Ayoyo soup’.

• Put your ‘Ayoyo’ leaves in a bowl and wash them thoroughly with salt about three to four times.
• Put your saucepan containing small water on the fire for it to boil.
• Before starting the Ayoyo soup you must steam your meat and blend all your vegetables so that you can prepare the soup on time.
• When the water boils for some time, add the Ayoyo leaves.
• You then add your blended vegetables as you prepare your normal soup.
• You then add some Dawadawa, steamed meat, crabs, or any fish.
• Wait for the soup to boil for some time to become slimy and a bit thicker.
• And that’s it, your ‘Ayoyo’ stew is ready for you.

Most of the time, normal tomato stew is attached to the ‘Ayoyo soup’ to get a delicious taste of the soup.

Nutritional Benefits

‘Tuo Zaafi’ and ‘Ayoyo’ contains Vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) which helps in brain development and keep the nervous and immune system healthy.

Again, taking ‘Tuo Zaafi’ with fish or crabs in the soup provides Protein to the body which builds and repairs muscles and bones.

There are other nutritional benefits one can get from the indigenous delicacy. Whether at home or the restaurant, do not forget to always add ‘Tuo Zaafi/ TZ’ to your menu.