 Balls of banku | |
| Alternative names | Akple,ɛtsew |
|---|---|
| Type | Swallow |
| Place of origin | Ghana |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | Corn dough,cassava dough, salt and water |
InGhanaian cuisine,banku andakple (// ⓘ) areswallow dishes made of a slightlyfermented cooked mixture ofmaize andcassava doughs formed into single-serving balls.
Banku is cooked in hot water until it turns into a smooth, whitish paste,[1][2][3] served withsoup,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] theFante people and theGa-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 callɛtsew.[1][2][7]
Banku is a distinctivelyGa-Dangme term.[8][failed verification] Banku is coined from the Dangbe phrase "ba mi ku". Ba means 'leaf(ves)'. Ku is the generic Ga-Dangbe term for all food of similar texture and prepared in a similar manner. Historically, banku was stored in leaves. The phrase ba mi ku simply means ku in leaves, and has been adulterated over time into banku. There are similar tonal terms with different meaning in the Ga language, such asinku (for pomade in the Ga language),ashanku (for a variant of a plantain fritter calledtatale), and many other names ending in 'ku'.[9][failed verification]
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The main ingredients for preparingbanku arecorn flour,cassava, salt and water.Banku andakple are made with similar ingredients.[10][2]
Cassava is peeled, chopped and mixed with corn grains and soaked for a day. The water is poured off and the cassava and maize are milled into a smooth, fine and wet dough. The dough is then fermented for two to five days, depending on temperature.[11][12]
The corn and cassava dough is mixed with water and then boiled. The mixture is stirred gradually until theslurry becomes dough-like again and is then kneaded until it is smooth. Water is added around the "dough-in-pan-island", enough to almost cover the surface. It then needs to be covered well and allowed to boil, ensuring even cooking and steaming of the dough in the covered pan. Next, the dough is kneaded with aspatula to incorporate the water into it until it is smooth.
The process is repeated with centering, watering, and kneading until the dough is soft and evenly cooked. The cooked dough is portioned into small balls.
Banku andakple are traditionally eaten with hands.[13]Akple is usually eaten with anokro (okra) soup known asfetri detsi among the Ewes.[14] It can be served withsoup,stew orpepper sauce with meat or fish.[12]
