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Banku with tilapia

Fermented maize and cassava dough worked smooth, with grilled fish and a hot pepper sauce.

4 servings · 75 minutes (estimated)

Banku with tilapia
Photo: sshreeves · CC BY 2.0 · image source

Ingredients

Quantities for 4 servings.

  • 400 g Maize flour, fermented for three days
  • 200 g Cassava dough
  • 4 piece Tilapia, whole, gutted
  • 4 piece Tomatoes
  • 3 piece Habanero chillies
  • 2 piece Onion
  • 30 g Ginger
  • 4 clove Garlic
  • 80 ml Vegetable oil
  • to taste Salt

Method

  1. Mix the maize and cassava doughs with a litre of water and salt to a smooth, lump-free batter.
  2. Set it over medium heat and work it with a wooden paddle without stopping. It starts to thicken after five minutes.
  3. Keep working it for twenty minutes, pressing it against the sides, until it turns dense and glossy.
  4. Shape balls with wet hands and wrap each in film or a banana leaf.
  5. Rub the fish with salt, ginger and garlic and grill or pan-fry it eight minutes a side.
  6. Grind the tomatoes, habaneros, onion, salt and a spoon of oil in a mortar to a coarse sauce.
  7. Serve a ball of banku, the fish and a bowl of sauce. It is eaten by hand, pinching off dough and dipping it.
Recipe data adapted from UniTools, CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: page design, formatting and integration in NOMVEX Food. This adapted recipe text is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Image credit and its separate licence are shown below the photo, where available.