Banku with Grilled Tilapia and Pepper Sauce

By AislePrompt Editorial · Published 2026-10-08 · Updated 2026-10-08

Smooth, tangy banku made from fermented corn and cassava dough, served with a whole tilapia charred on the grill and a fresh, fiery pepper sauce of tomato, onion and scotch bonnet. This Ghanaian-inspired chicken recipe, ready in about 85 minutes, pairs fermented corn dough, cassava dough, water for a weeknight-friendly dinner that comes together with one pan and minimal cleanup. Each serving lands at about 620 calories and feeds 4, so it slots cleanly into a weekly meal plan and pairs well with a quick salad or grain on the side. Tap "Plan a meal with the AI" below to drop this recipe into your week and send the ingredients straight to Instacart. Nutrition values are approximate, calculated from USDA FoodData Central (fdc.nal.usda.gov) — verify against ingredient labels for any health-driven dietary plan.

Ingredients

• 2 cups fermented corn dough
• 1 cup cassava dough
• 3 cups water
• 2 (about 1.5 lbs each) whole tilapia, scaled and gutted
• 1 yellow onion
• 2-inch piece fresh ginger
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground prekese (Aidan fruit) or ground cloves
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 fresh lime
• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 red onion
• 3 scotch bonnet peppers
• to taste salt

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Instructions

1. Step 1: Make the marinade: blend the yellow onion, the ginger, 4 garlic cloves, the prekese, the oil and 1 tsp of salt. Cut three diagonal slashes into each side of both fish. Rub the marinade inside the cavity and into the slashes. Let the fish sit for 30 minutes.
2. Step 2: Grill the tilapia over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes per side, until the skin is charred and the flesh flakes easily. Finish with a squeeze of lime.
3. Step 3: Make the pepper sauce: grind the scotch bonnets, red onion, the remaining garlic clove and salt to a coarse paste, ideally in an earthenware asanka. Add the tomatoes and crush them until saucy but still chunky.
4. Step 4: Make the banku: in a heavy pot, mix the corn dough, cassava dough, 1 tsp salt and the water until smooth. Cook over medium heat, stirring hard with a wooden spatula, as the mixture thickens.
5. Step 5: Keep stirring and folding the dough against the side of the pot for 15 to 20 minutes, until it is stiff, smooth, glossy and no longer tastes raw. Add a splash of water if it gets too dry.
6. Step 6: Wet a small bowl and use it to shape the banku into round balls.
7. Step 7: Serve each ball of banku with grilled tilapia and a generous spoonful of pepper sauce.