Banku (dish)

Banku
Balls of banku
Alternative namesAkple, ɛtsew
TypeSwallow
Place of originGhana
Serving temperatureHot
Main ingredientsCorn dough, cassava dough, salt and water

In Ghanaian cuisine, banku and akple (// ⓘ) are swallow dishes made of a slightly fermented cooked mixture of maize and cassava doughs formed into single-serving balls.

Banku is cooked in hot water until it turns into a smooth, whitish paste,[1][2][3] served with soup, okra stew or a pepper sauce with fish.[4][5]

Akple is preferred by the people of the southern regions of Ghana—the Ewe people,[6] the Fante people and the Ga-Dangme—but it is also eaten across other regions in Ghana. Banku is a softer variety eaten by the Ga-Dangme (Ga or Dangbe), while the Fante people also have a drier variant of the dish they call ɛtsew.[1][2][7]

  1. ^ a b Haard, N.F. (1999). Fermented Cereals: A Global Perspective. FAO agricultural services bulletin. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 37. ISBN 978-92-5-104296-0.
  2. ^ a b Briggs, P.; Rushton, K. (2007). Ghana: The Bradt Travel Guide. Bradt Guides. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-84162-205-7.
  3. ^ Muyambo, Freda (2019-06-25). "Banku". 196 flavors. Retrieved 2021-05-15.
  4. ^ online reference, by J Dzeagu-Kudjodji and others ;"Banku". Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  5. ^ "How to prepare Banku". Ghana Web. 13 December 2017. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. ^ (1) A Grammatical Sketch of the Akra or Ga-language - By Johannes Zimmermann, (2) Online Reference By J DZeagu-Kudjodji and Others.[page needed]
  7. ^ "Banku". ifood.tv/. Future Today Inc. Retrieved 14 February 2015.