Banku and Tilapia
Fermented corn and cassava dough cooked into a smooth, tangy dumpling — served with whole grilled tilapia and pepper sauce.
Ingredients
- •Fermented corn dough
- •Fermented cassava (agbelima)
- •Water
- •Salt
- •Tilapia fish
- •Scotch bonnet pepper
- •Onions
- •Tomatoes
- •Ginger
- •Garlic
- •Palm oil
Instructions
Mix doughs
Combine fermented corn dough and agbelima (cassava) in a 3:1 ratio. Mix well with water until smooth.
Cook banku
Cook the dough in a pot over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon. Keep folding and turning for 20 minutes until it pulls from the sides.
Score and season tilapia
Make deep cuts across the tilapia. Season inside and out with ginger, garlic, salt, and pepper.
Grill tilapia
Grill or pan-fry the tilapia over high heat for 5–6 minutes per side until crispy and cooked through.
Make pepper sauce
Blend scotch bonnet, tomatoes, onions, and ginger. Fry in palm oil until thick.
Banku with tilapia is considered one of Ghana's supreme culinary combinations — a fermented corn and cassava dumpling paired with whole grilled tilapia and a fiery pepper sauce. Banku's fermentation gives it a distinctive sour tang and a smooth, slightly elastic texture that distinguishes it from other West African dumplings.
The fermented corn and cassava dough must be worked continuously over high heat — the constant stirring and folding is physically demanding but essential to achieving the smooth, homogeneous texture. An under-worked banku will have lumps and a raw doughy taste; a properly worked banku is silky smooth with a pleasant sour note from the fermentation.
Tilapia is the perfect partner because its firm, flavorful flesh holds up to high-heat grilling and its mild flavor plays beautifully against the tangy banku and incendiary pepper sauce. The combination is eaten at every level of Ghanaian society — at upscale restaurants and roadside chop bars alike — and is one of the most complete and satisfying meals in West African cuisine.