Easy and Simple Way to Make Banku
Overview
Banku is fermented corn and cassava dough, cooked to a smooth, slightly sour mass and shaped into balls. The sourness is the whole identity of the dish. Unfermented, the same ingredients produce something else entirely, which is why the two to five days the dough spends fermenting are not a preliminary to making banku but the making of it. The name is Ga-Dangme, and banku belongs most closely to the Ewe, Fante and Ga-Adangbe peoples of southern Ghana, though it is eaten throughout the country. Its most recognised pairing is with grilled tilapia and hot pepper sauce, a combination that functions as a national plate: the sour dough against the freshwater fish and the raw heat of the pepper. It is eaten with the hands, in pieces pinched off the ball and used to lift soup or sauce. Ghanaians distinguish banku from akple, its close Ewe relative, and from fufu, which is a different preparation entirely, and those distinctions matter to the people who make them. Fermentation is what sets banku apart from the other starches on the same table.
AFN Heritage Note
Banku takes its name from the Ga-Dangme language of southern Ghana, and is built on the fermentation of maize dough with cassava. Maize reached West Africa through Atlantic trade from the 16th century, and cassava by the same routes, making the pairing that defines banku a post contact combination of two introduced crops into an older fermentation practice.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Mix the corn flour thoroughly with the warm water in a jar or container.
- 2
Cover with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for about two days. In cold weather this will take longer.
- 3
Bring at least 2 cups of water to the boil in a pot.
- 4
Add the fermented corn dough slowly to the boiling water.
- 5
Stir constantly and thoroughly for about 20 minutes until the mixture is thick. Add water if it becomes too dry.
- 6
Shape into orange sized balls and wrap tightly to hold their warmth.
Africook’s Notes
Personal notes from Jennifer Ezeokoli- Fermentation time is weather dependent, not clock dependent. Two days in a warm kitchen may take four or five in a cold one. Judge it by smell: the dough should be distinctly sour, not merely damp.
- The stirring stage is continuous and physical. Twenty minutes of unbroken work against a stiffening dough is what produces the smooth texture, and stopping to rest leaves lumps that will not come out later.
- Wrapping the balls in cling film immediately after shaping keeps them warm and stops a skin forming. Banku that has cooled and set is difficult to bring back.
- Grilled tilapia with hot pepper sauce is the canonical pairing. Okra stew and light soup are the other standards.
Reviews
5 reviews
You Might Also Like
Browse all Ghanaian recipes →
Garden Egg Stew (Earthenware Bowl Method)
Kontomire Stew
Kenkey
What is the right ratio of corn dough to cassava dough for banku?
Three parts corn to one part cassava is the common starting point, and it is worth treating as a starting point rather than a rule. More cassava makes it stretchier and slightly sweeter, more corn makes it firmer and more sour. Households differ and both are correct. Whichever you use, the dough needs to have fermented properly first, which is where the sourness comes from.
Tried this to see how it compares to our local pap. The 2 cups of corn flour mixed with warm water fermented nicely, but adding the fermented dough into the boiling water got far too lumpy. Took me way longer than 20 minutes of vigorous stirring to break down the lumps, and it was still a bit too dense. Taste was interesting but the method needs tweaking for me.
Got my corn flour from the international market near Duluth. The 2 day fermentation worked out fine in the Georgia heat, but during cooking, 20 minutes of constant stirring was serious work. I had to add nearly another cup of water halfway through because the mixture got way too thick before it was fully cooked. Good result in the end though.
London cold is no joke o. I left the corn flour mixture by the radiator for four full days before it got that proper sour smell, because two days just was not enough in this weather. But once I started stirring it in the pot for that 20 minutes, it came together so smooth. Paired it with fried tilapia and hot pepper, e sweet sha!