Learning to cook traditional dishes has been an exciting journey for me, and Banga stew is one of those recipes that I’ve recently taken on. As a novice in the kitchen, I’m constantly discovering new techniques and flavors, and I’m excited to share this experience with you.
Banga stew, also known as Ofe akwu, is a beloved Nigerian dish that is rich in flavor and tradition. This stew is made from fresh palm nuts and is often enjoyed with white rice. Today, I will share with you the step-by-step process of preparing this delicious dish.
So I used the the palm fruits harvested from our farm recently
Here below are the ingredients I used for this meal:
Ingredients:
500g palm fruits (5 cups)
1 stock fish
1 dry fish
3 medium bulbs of onion
2 tablespoons crayfish
3 small seasoning cubes
Fresh pepper (to your taste)
Banga spice
Scent leaves
Preparation
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Wash and remove bone from dry fish and soak it in water with the stock fish to soften
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Slice onions. Pound crayfish and pepper and set aside
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In a clean pot, wash the palm kernels (Banga) and put on fire to boil till the fruits gets soft.
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When that is done, I sieve the palm fruit and put it in a mortar to pound so as to extract the pulp
It's quite difficult at this point but easy if you know how to do it.
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Pound the boiled palm nuts in a mortar (You can use food processor to mash them if you have one)
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Add warm water to the pounded nuts and mix thoroughly. Massage the palm fruits with Your hands if it’s too hot use a spoon or spatula.
At this point be mindful of your water quantity, it shouldn't be too watery so you won't need a thickener.
- Strain the mixture to extract the palm fruit juice, discarding the chaff
Below is a little video of how I did it:
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Next, pour the juice in a pot and set on fire till it thickens and there's some oil above it
- Next add the stockfish and dry fish. Also the crayfish and pepper and some salt. Allow them to mix and boil very well
- Then add the onion and Banga spices , the seasoning cubes and some salt to taste.
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Next, add the scent leave to the pot and after a few seconds it is ready
Put the pot down from heat, it is ready to be served.
Below is how the stew looks in a plate, very delicious:
The stew is often served with boiled rice, so we boil the rice with a little salt and use it to eat the stew:
🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺🌼🌺
I'm thankful for this space that let's me share my experience. For those outside Africa I recommend trying this stew in an African restaurant, it will be a very good experience. Thank you for your time here 🤗
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