In Ghana “sun dried salted Anchovies” are affectionately called “Keta School boys” in any part of the country and Keta is a reference to an old slave trade town in Ghana situated between the Atlantic ocean and the Keta Lagoon. Keta was also mentioned in Maya Angelou‘s book “All God’s Children Need Traveling Shoes”.
I can’t tell yet how the name came about yet but then Aborbi is enjoyed by most Ewe families and a delicacy worth mapping a road from a mans stomach to his heart.
You can’t pay a visit to KETA and not have a taste of arguably the most delicious and popular stew known as #Aborbitadi or in English we would say “Keta school boys stew”.
Aborbitadi usually goes with Akple and the exciting thing about this stew is that every blow of Akple you dip in the stew is followed by a whole bunch of anchovies into your mouth and the taste in your mouth and then down your throat is a memory to keep if an Anlo woman prepares it for you. Trust me you would definitely fall in love with Keta after eating a home made Aborbitadi.
And then preparing Aborbitadi comes in varieties with some people just roasting the Aborbi in a hot pan without oil and adding it to “Agbametadi” which refers to the grinding together pepper, salt, shallots, and fresh tomatoes.
Another way of preparing Aborbitadi is in the stew form which requires the Aborbi to be fried in oil, preferably red oil and then added to the stew and cooked together. This is my personal favourite and it’s a guarantee y’all would love it.
So it’s a Sunday and I am in Keta! And almost every Sunday is an Aborbitadi and Akple in the afternoon. So if you can catch me at #Cocobay_BeachBarAndGrill on the beach and let’s order a home cooked Akple and Aborbitadi made in Keta laaaa.
#KetaAgenda2020
#KetaIsBlackHistory
Story by Selorm Ameza