Today’s food train takes us to banku which is a Ghanaian dish. There are a lot of processes involved in the preparation of banku, I mean majority of African dishes are not quick fix anyway.
Banku is prepared from fermented corn and cassava dough. The corn is soaked in water for about two to three days and the water is drained from the corn after which the wet corn is milled into powder. This powder is mix with a little water and is allowed to sit for three days to get it fermented.
At this stage, when you have your fermented corn dough, you take the quantity you would like to use and whatever quantity you decide to take, you must equally take half that amount of cassava dough and mix both dough’s together with water to get a consistent paste.
The final stage is to put the mixture on fire and add salt to taste. Stir the mixture gently and thoroughly with a wooden ladle so it doesn’t become lumpy. After a while of stirring, the mixture will thicken up and you will have to turn the banku for about ten minutes then add some water for the mixture to soften and keeping turning for another ten minutes and your banku is ready.
Banku is best served with okra soup or grounded pepper. Enjoy your imaginary banku as you read.
AFRO387 