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Ghana · Tilapia

Ghanaian Grilled Tilapia with Banku

Banku ne Tilapia

In the chop bars and roadside grills of Accra, whole tilapia from Lake Volta is rubbed with ginger, garlic, onion and scotch bonnet, grilled over charcoal and served with soft, sour banku and a bowl of fresh ground pepper sauce. You eat it with your right hand.

  • Prep 25 min
  • Cook 25 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Easy
Photo: nickstudio™ / Adobe Stock
Served with: Banku ↓En Español

Ingredients

Tap each item as you gather it.

For the fish

For the red pepper sauce

For the green pepper sauce (optional)

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Method

Step by step, the traditional way.

  1. Make the marinade. Blend the onion, ginger, garlic, scotch bonnet, crushed bouillon cube, salt and oil into a smooth paste.
  2. Season the fish. Cut 3 deep slashes on each side of every fish. Rub the paste all over, into the slashes and inside the belly. Leave at least 30 minutes, or chill up to 4 hours.
  3. Grill. Heat a charcoal grill (or the oven broiler) until very hot and oil the grate well. Grill the fish 8–10 minutes per side, until the skin is charred and the flesh flakes at the bone.
  4. Grind the pepper. For the red sauce, grind the tomatoes, onion, scotch bonnets, ginger and salt in a blender or a clay asanka to a rough, fresh salsa. Do the same with the green sauce ingredients in a separate bowl.
  5. Serve. Put each fish on a plate with a ball of hot banku, a mound of red pepper and a spoon of green pepper. Sliced onion and tomato on top is the Accra way.

On the side

The side dish that belongs with it, full recipe included.

Banku
Ghana

Banku

Banku

Fermented corn and cassava dough cooked and stirred hard into smooth, slightly sour balls. Ghana eats it with grilled tilapia, okra stew and pepper sauce.

  • Prep 10 min
  • Cook 25 min
  • Serves 4
  • Level Medium

You need

  • 2 cups (about 1 lb / 450 g) fermented corn dough (sold as "corn dough" or "banku mix" in African groceries)
  • 1 cup (about ½ lb / 225 g) fermented cassava dough
  • 2½ cups water, plus more as needed
  • 1 tsp salt

How to make it

  1. Mix. Break up the corn and cassava doughs in a heavy pot with the water and salt and stir to a smooth, lump-free batter.
  2. Cook. Set over medium heat and stir constantly with a flat wooden spatula. In 5–8 minutes it thickens fast; keep going.
  3. Work it. Turn the heat to low and keep stirring, pressing the dough against the side of the pot, 15–20 minutes, adding a splash of water if it gets stiff, until smooth, glossy and stretchy.
  4. Shape. Wet a small bowl, add a big spoonful of banku and swirl it into a smooth ball. Wrap in plastic or a banana leaf to keep warm.

More ways to cook Tilapia

Same fish, a different corner of the world.

Alexandria, EgyptEgyptian Fried Tilapia
Alexandria, EgyptEgyptian Grilled Tilapia
Saint-Louis, SenegalSenegalese Fish and Rice