Being an Indian, I thought that I was a pro at eating spicy food. Be it Mexican, Spanish or Thai food, I considered myself to be unbeatable in eating insanely high levels of spice. Little did I know that this arrogance was not to stay for long.

A few days back, my colleague at work, Rosemary, took me to a local restaurant for lunch. Already slobbering by the smell of the food in the restaurant, I could not wait to taste the local dishes. With some helpful consultation with Rosemary, I decided to order Fufu and Light Soup with chicken. I specifically told the server to keep it hot, hoping that the ‘light’ soup would match my spice expectations. We got it packed and decided to eat at the office.

As I took the first sip of the soup, I realized that my ‘spicy over-confidence’ lay completely shattered. I ran to the kitchen counter, grabbed a glass of cold water, and gulped it. My colleague had a sudden gush of amusement. I could see that she wanted to laugh hard, but she mitigated her laughter into a lingering grin.

The soup was fantastic. I could taste every spice and herb separately, which made it all the more delicious.  After practicing the continuous assault of light soup for a few days, I am happy to report that fufu and light soup have become some of my favorite foods in Ghana.

To my delight, my colleagues promised to give me fufu powder that will help me to prepare it in the US.