Smoky charcoal-grilled meat skewers crusted in a peanut-and-chili spice rub, threaded with onions and peppers. A Ghanaian Hausa street-food staple, kyinkyinga is the local cousin of suya.
Hausa traders carried the skewer south into the zongo quarters of Ghana's towns, where braziers of glowing charcoal still line the evening streets. The meat is rolled in tankora, the peanut-and-pepper dust the Hausa call yaji, the same spice idea behind Nigeria's suya, and grilled to order for hungry passers-by.
You taste char first, then a dry, nutty heat that clings to the meat like dust. The peanut rub turns sweet and toasty against the smoke, ginger and chili prickle at the back of the throat, and the cool raw onion you eat between bites resets everything for the next skewer.
The dry peanut rub draws surface moisture so the meat sears and chars fast over charcoal, while the ground nuts toast into the crust, adding aroma and a savory depth as their oils heat.
Variations
made with chicken, goat or gizzards, wrapped without vegetables, or served with kosua ne meko (eggs and pepper)
On the Palate
Where Kyinkyinga sits in the Ghanaian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
8 steps · 30 min
- 110 min
Cut beef into thin strips or bite-size cubes.
- 28 min
Make the tankora rub by mixing roasted ground peanuts, ground chili, ginger, garlic and onion powder with salt.
- 35 min
Toss the meat in a little oil, then coat thoroughly in the spice mix and rest to marinate.
Watch outCoat the meat thoroughly in the dry peanut rub — the ground nuts draw out surface moisture so it chars fast over the coals.
- 47 min
Thread the meat onto skewers, alternating with onion and bell pepper pieces.
- 52 min
Dust the skewers with a little more tankora.
- 612 min
Grill over hot charcoal, turning, until charred at the edges and just cooked through.
Watch outGrill hot and fast, turning, until the edges char but the inside is only just done — lean beef strips dry out if you push them.
- 71 min
Sprinkle with extra peanut spice off the heat.
- 82 min
Serve hot with sliced onions, tomatoes and fresh chili.
