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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)

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
- Mix the maize and cassava doughs with a litre of water and salt to a smooth, lump-free batter.
- Set it over medium heat and work it with a wooden paddle without stopping. It starts to thicken after five minutes.
- Keep working it for twenty minutes, pressing it against the sides, until it turns dense and glossy.
- Shape balls with wet hands and wrap each in film or a banana leaf.
- Rub the fish with salt, ginger and garlic and grill or pan-fry it eight minutes a side.
- Grind the tomatoes, habaneros, onion, salt and a spoon of oil in a mortar to a coarse sauce.
- 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.