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
Wash and remove bone from dry fish and soak it in water with the stock fish to soften
Slice onions. Pound crayfish and pepper and set aside
- In a clean pot, wash the palm kernels (Banga) and put on fire to boil till the fruits gets soft.
- 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.
Pound the boiled palm nuts in a mortar (You can use food processor to mash them if you have one)
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:
- 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.
- 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 🤗
