Are you thinking of preparing banku with tilapia but don’t know how to go about it? Read more here on How to prepare banku with tilapia.
Banku is one of the common local meals in Ghana, obtained from a mixture of fermented corn and cassava dough. Both doughs are mixed together in water until they melt into a fine soft mixture.
These two ingredients have their own nutritional value and also used in different forms as food. The corn dough dishes out some fiber, minerals, and magnesium together with complex carbs. The cassava dough is rich in starch which is good for the body, in the right proportions of course.
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Banku can be eaten with different types of soup and stew based on your preference. But in this article, our focus will be serving it with grilled tilapia and grounded pepper sauce.
Ingredients for preparing banku with tilapia
- Corn dough
- Cassava dough
- Fresh sizable Tilapia
- Salt to taste
- Fresh tomatoes and pepper
- Onions
- Natural spices for seasoning your Tilapia, depending on your preference (ginger, garlic, rosemary, cloves, and others).
- Green pepper for garnishing
How to prepare banku with tilapia
1. Begin with the tilapia by washing, cleaning, and descaling it. Next, Season it with your preferred natural spices and leave for a few minutes to have a well-seasoned tilapia.
2. Set your fire, and put it on a grill or in an oven.
3. Check from time to time and glaze with oil. Also, turn to other sides when needed to avoid burning or sticking on the grill.
4. On a different fire, start with the banku with a clean by mixing and mashing the corn and cassava together in a pot of water. Make sure to single out pieces of fiber and remove all lumps until it forms a paste-like mixture. Remember to add a pinch of salt.
5. Put your paste-like mixture on fire and stir with your wooden stirrer, locally known as banku ‘ta’. Stir gently for a few minutes for it to gain thickness.
6. During the process of stirring, the paste will become more thicker and will need much strength to drive it to be harder. As the paste gets thicker, reduce the heat and support the pot with your hand using a napkin and drive for about 6 minutes. You can also support the ears of the pot with a metal holder and place your two legs on both sides, then drive with both hands.
7. Make holes in the heap of your banku with the wooden spatula, add water, increase the heat, and cover to cook for a few minutes.
8. The tilapia should be ready or almost ready by now to serve. You can still perform the activity of glazing and turning regularly.
9. While the banku is left to cook for a while, you can wash your fresh tomatoes, pepper, and bulb onions. Grind or blend them together depending on how hot you want your pepper sauce and quantity. Add salt to taste and slice some onions into it.
10. After a few minutes of leaving your banku to cook with a little water in it, continue the driving or kneading process until it’s smooth.
11. When the banku is cooked or smooth to your satisfaction, shape it into preferred serving sizes with a round small bowl.
12. Garnish your tilapia with slices of onion and green pepper. Serve your banku with hot pepper and tilapia. Enjoy your delicious banku with tilapia.