Roast Guinea Fowl with Yam Balls

Roast Guinea Fowl with Yam Balls: Guinea Fowls are “officious little men in baggy suits” says Gail Damerow in “Raising Guinea Fowl: A Low-Maintenance Flock.”

My first encounter with these birds was in Tamale, Northern Ghana, where my family spent some summer holidays. My Dad, who was on a work assignment in Tamale, reared some in his house. I have since learned that the Guinea Fowl is native to Africa and was introduced by Portuguese explorers to Europe in the 15^th century.

Tamale was an extraordinary place. Folks old enough to pass off as my grandparents regularly courteously greeted me on the streets. It was the only place I’d been to where the Town had a designated market day. I saw and touched a hut made of clay for the first time in my life in Tamale and had my first taste of the local delicacy kulikuli, roast duck and roast guinea fowl. This was all a far cry from city life in Accra, my home city.

As a local Head of a bank, my Dad was a local dignitary. He lived in a large mansion, had his own chauffeur, helpers at home and was a good friend of the Tamale traditional ruler. This meant when his family was in town, the locals showed their appreciation of him by giving us all sorts of gifts, notably livestock and guinea fowl.

The trip from Accra to Tamale was always an arduous one, but the prospect of indulging my palate with roast guinea fowl made it all the more worthwhile. The road from Accra was good for about half the journey. The other half was so bad and dusty that you’d think every passenger had dyed their hair dusty blond by the time we got to Tamale. The holes underneath the State Transport Corporation buses (STC) did not help either. A journey that should probably take a quarter of the time always ended up taking close to 24 hours.

Northern Ghanaians have a near monopoly on the nation’s palates when it comes to roast meat. Ghana’s famous chinchinga spice also known as Suya in other parts of West Africa came from northern Ghana. The street food chinchinga or meat on skewers are predominantly made and sold by Northern Ghanaians.

It is, therefore, no surprise that my preferred recipe for roast guinea fowl is based on the spices and methods used in Northern Ghana. The base of my marinade is the chinchinga spice I bought from Madina market in Accra. To that will be added other spices.

Yam balls and Ghana gravy are added as sides.

Ground cayenne pepper, a garlic clove, birds eye chilies, and ginger added to the Chinchinga spice

Click to Get the recipe for roast guinea fowl