Koba

Ingredients

Filling

• 8very ripe bananas, about 900 g peeled, mashed
• 250 graw peanuts, roasted, skinned and coarsely crushed
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 1 pinchfine salt

Dough

• 300 grice flour
• 150 gcaster sugar
• 250 mlwater, plus more as needed
• 1 pinchsalt

To wrap and cook

• 12–16banana leaves, softened over a flame and torn into 30 cm squares
• Banana leaf ribs or kitchen string, for tying
• 5 litreswater, for simmering

Directions

1. Toast the peanuts in a dry pan over medium heat for 8–10 minutes until the skins blister and they smell rich, then rub off the skins in a cloth and crush them coarsely in a mortar. Leave visible pieces; koba should crunch.
2. Mash the bananas to a rough purée with a fork, keeping some texture, and mix with the crushed peanuts, sugar and salt.
3. Whisk the rice flour with the sugar, salt and water to a thick, smooth paste, roughly the consistency of soft putty. Add water a spoon at a time; too wet and it will not hold a layer.
4. Pass the banana leaves briefly over a flame or through boiling water until they turn glossy and dark green and become pliable. Wipe them clean and trim out the hardest ribs.
5. Overlap two leaf squares, shiny side up. Spread a 1 cm layer of rice paste across the centre, spread a thicker layer of the banana-peanut mixture on top, then cover with another layer of rice paste.
6. Fold the leaves over into a tight parcel, tucking in the ends, and bind firmly with strips of leaf rib or string so no water can get in. Make 4 large parcels or 8 small ones.
7. Lower the parcels into a large pot of boiling water, weight them down with a plate so they stay submerged, and simmer gently, covered, for 4–5 hours, topping up with boiling water as it evaporates.
8. The koba is ready when a skewer pushed through a parcel comes out clean and the interior has set firm enough to slice. Traditionally it is cooked all day over embers.
9. Lift out, drain and cool completely in the leaves before unwrapping. Cut across into 2 cm slices and serve at room temperature, the way street sellers hawk it from cloth-covered baskets in Antananarivo.

Technique

• Koba akondro must cool fully before slicing. Cut warm, it smears and falls apart; cold, it slices like a firm pâté.
• The banana leaf is not just packaging: it perfumes the cake and its waxy surface stops water penetrating during the long simmer. Torn leaves let water in and make a wet, grey koba.
• The long cooking is what gelatinises the rice flour completely and marries the layers. There is no fast version worth making.
• Sold in cylinders or blocks and cut to order, koba is the archetypal Malagasy street snack and travels well without refrigeration for a day or two.

Substitutions

• No banana leaves: use a double layer of well-oiled baking parchment inside foil, tightly sealed, and expect a milder flavour.
• Peanut butter, 200 g of the crunchy unsweetened kind, can stand in for roasted peanuts at a pinch.
• Very ripe plantain works in place of banana and gives a firmer, less sweet result.

Variations

• Koba ravina, the classic wrapped-in-leaf cylinder sold sliced.
• Koba akondro made with brown sugar or honey for a darker, more caramelised cake.
• A steamed version cooked in a bamboo tube over the fire in the eastern forests.

History

Rice flour, peanuts and banana wrapped in banana leaf and steamed for many hours, sold in slices by street vendors in Antananarivo.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koba?

Koba is a dessert from Madagascar: banana, peanut and rice-flour cake steamed in banana leaves. Rice flour, peanuts and banana wrapped in banana leaf and steamed for many hours, sold in slices by street vendors in Antananarivo.

How long does Koba take to make?

Koba takes 35 min of preparation and 5 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Koba?

Yes, within limits. No banana leaves: use a double layer of well-oiled baking parchment inside foil, tightly sealed, and expect a milder flavour. Peanut butter, 200 g of the crunchy unsweetened kind, can stand in for roasted peanuts at a pinch. Very ripe plantain works in place of banana and gives a firmer, less sweet result.

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

Koba akondro must cool fully before slicing. Cut warm, it smears and falls apart; cold, it slices like a firm pâté.