Grilled · Spiced Skewers

Chichinga

📷 Closely related photo — Photo via Pexels/Unsplash — free for commercial use

The fiery orange dust coating these skewers is mostly ground peanuts, not just chili.

Chichinga is Ghana's take on the West African skewered-meat tradition: thin strips of beef, chicken, or offal grilled over charcoal and rolled in a dry spice mix called suya spice (yaji) — ground peanuts, ginger, chili, and cloves. Vendors sell it hot off the grill at night markets and roadside stalls.

Why it's made this way: The peanut-and-chili spice rub developed among Hausa traders across the Sahel as a way to preserve and flavor grilled meat cheaply, and the tradition spread with trade routes into Ghana.