Winneba Masquerade Festival : The First Party Of The Year In Ghana

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If you want to start your New Year with colour, celebration, and pure energy, there is only one place to be on 1st January, Winneba . While everybody is still sleeping after 31st Night, Winneba is already awake. Drums, brass band, costumes, masks. This is the Winneba Masquerade Festival, locally called Fancy Dress. It is the first major festival in Ghana every year. And it is the second biggest festival in Winneba after Aboakyer. There is a morning in Winneba that does not feel like any other morning in Ghana. By 7am, you can hear it. The brass band far away. The drum, shouting and the crowd. If you are in Winneba on that day, you cannot stay in your room. The sound will drag you out. I remember the first time I followed the sound. I thought something had happened. I thought maybe there was a funeral. But when I reached the road, I saw something I had never seen before. Men wearing masks. Big, colourful, scary, beautiful masks. Some looked like animals. Some looked like old white men ...

HOW TO MAKE SWEET RABBIT SALAD--RECIPE


INGREDIENTS

  • 700g poached  rabbit (boneless)
  • 1/4 pint thick mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoon finely chopped parsley
  • 250g onion finely chopped
  • 150g long grain rice
  • 3 tablespoon of jam


POACHED RABBIT FOR SALAD

  • 1 small onion 
  • Salt
  • carrot
  • All purpose season


Method

  1. Cook rice in plenty of salted water until tender, drain and cool. 
  2. Place mayonnaise in a bowl. Melt jam, water lemon juice over a low heat, then stir into the mayonnaise and cool.
  3. Add onion, tomatoes, salt, pepper, diced rabbit and rice to the mayonnaise and toss thoroughly.
  4. Chill before serving on a bed of lettuce.
  5. Garnish with parsley, tomatoes and carrot
POACHED RABBIT FOR SALAD

1. Cut the parsley, onion, carrot, salt, and rabbit meat in a medium saucepan. Cover with the water, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to very low and cover. Poach the rabbit until firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, uncover and cool the rabbit in the liquid for 30 minutes.


2. Transfer the rabbit to a cutting board . Dice the meat into about 1-inch pieces. Discard the bones and skin.