Shitor: Enough to Share!

Don't take my word for it, we Ghanaians don't measure. We udge withour eyes and weigh in our palms.

I've been thinking of the shitor we made in Ghana all those years ago. I've been considering how the measurements would add up, as we didn't measure much except rice and cake mixes. We learnt from our mothers how to judge weights and volumes with our eyes. Try this only if you're feeling adventurous. Because of the strong cooking smell of shitor, plan to make a lot of it at once, either to share or to freeze for later use. Shitor lasts long if the ingredients used are dry, the jar is clean and dry before use, and if one uses a clean dry spoon to serve it.

Up to 1 litre of vegetable oil.

4 large onions

1 cup tomato puree

1/2 cup of powdered chilli peppers.

3 cups of dried powdered shrimp

1 cup of dried powdered anchovies

2+ teaspoons of salt to taste

Heat oil, and add chopped onion. Just as onions brown, add puree. Stir to mix and break up the thick puree in the oil. Add four Magi cubes after five minutes, then add the mixture of powders: chilli, shrimp and anchovies. Add salt to taste.


Other additions and substitutions to try:
1/2 cup Ginger powder, 1/2-1cup onion powder or dehydrated minced onion, and 1/4 cup garlic powder.