Banku

Ingredients

Dough

• 600 gwhite maize, milled to a coarse-fine corn dough, or 600 g ready-made fermented corn dough
• 200 gfresh cassava dough, grated and pressed
• 1.2 litreswater
• 1 tspfine salt

Fresh pepper sauce (shito nkatie)

• 4kpakpo shito peppers or 2 habaneros, stalks removed
• 2tomatoes (about 200 g), grilled until blistered
• 1small onion (about 80 g), quartered and grilled
• 1 tspfine salt
• 1 tbsppalm oil, optional

To serve

• Okro stew or garden-egg stew
• A bowl of water, for wetting the hands

Directions

1. Combine the fermented corn dough and the cassava dough in a ratio of three to one. The cassava is what gives banku its smooth, slightly elastic pull.
2. Whisk the doughs with the water and salt in a heavy pot until completely lump-free; a lump left now will still be there at the end.
3. Set over medium heat and stir continuously with a strong wooden spatula (banku ta) as it thickens, scraping the base so nothing catches. This is hard work and takes 20–25 minutes of constant motion.
4. Add a splash of hot water if it is too tight. Wet a small bowl with cold water, scoop in a portion of the hot banku and swirl it to shape a smooth round ball, then turn it out onto the plate.
5. Serve the balls hot with the pepper sauce and an okro or garden-egg stew, and eat with the right hand, pinching off a piece and dipping.

Technique

• The sourness is the point. Under-fermented dough makes bland, pasty banku; three days at Ghanaian room temperature is normal, longer in a cool kitchen.
• Never stop stirring. Banku left alone for even a minute scorches on the base, and burnt corn taste runs through the whole pot.
• Corn and cassava dough are sold ready-fermented in Ghanaian markets and in African groceries abroad, usually frozen. This is what most households actually buy.
• Banku, kenkey and akple are cousins: same fermented corn, different cooking and wrapping. Akple, the Ewe version, uses a higher share of corn and no cassava.

Substitutions

• No cassava dough: use 150 g of tapioca starch slaked in cold water, which gives a similar stretch but a flatter flavour.
• In a hurry, fine white maize meal plus 150 ml of live plain yoghurt approximates the ferment, though the acidity is one-dimensional.
• Kpakpo shito peppers are fruity and unique; scotch bonnet or habanero is the closest widely available chilli.

Variations

• Banku with okro stew, the classic combination of slippery stew and sour dough.
• Akple, the Ewe version from the Volta region, made with more corn and eaten with fetri detsi.
• Kenkey, the same fermented dough wrapped in corn husks or plantain leaves and steamed.

History

Fermented maize and cassava dough cooked to a smooth ball, a Ga and Ewe staple born after cassava joined maize in coastal farming.

Frequently asked questions

What is Banku?

Banku is a main from Ghana: fermented corn-cassava dough with grilled tilapia and fresh pepper sauce. Fermented maize and cassava dough cooked to a smooth ball, a Ga and Ewe staple born after cassava joined maize in coastal farming.

How long does Banku take to make?

Banku takes 20 min of preparation and 30 min, plus 3 days fermenting of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Banku?

Yes, within limits. No cassava dough: use 150 g of tapioca starch slaked in cold water, which gives a similar stretch but a flatter flavour. In a hurry, fine white maize meal plus 150 ml of live plain yoghurt approximates the ferment, though the acidity is one-dimensional. Kpakpo shito peppers are fruity and unique; scotch bonnet or habanero is the closest widely available chilli.

What is the most important thing to get right in Banku?

The sourness is the point. Under-fermented dough makes bland, pasty banku; three days at Ghanaian room temperature is normal, longer in a cool kitchen.