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    Home / Dinner / Banku and Grilled Tilapia

    Banku and Grilled Tilapia

    Fermented corn-cassava dumplings with charred, chili-rubbed tilapia and fiery pepper sauce — Ghana’s Friday night ritual.

    ⏱ 20 minPrep time
    🔥 40 minCook time
    🍽 4Servings
    🏷 DinnerCategory
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    Banku and grilled tilapia is one of Ghana’s most loved meals, a Friday-night ritual in homes and beachside chop bars alike. Banku is a smooth, slightly sour dumpling made from fermented corn and cassava, served with a whole tilapia grilled over coals and a fiery pepper sauce. It is eaten with the hands, a ball of banku dipped in sauce with a piece of fish on top. It is a meal made for slow evenings and long conversations, eaten outside whenever the weather allows.

    Smooth, tangy dumplings meet smoky fish

    The banku is soft and stretchy with a gentle sour tang that cuts through the richness of the fish, while the tilapia is crisp-skinned and smoky from the grill. The pepper sauce — tomatoes, onion, and scotch bonnet blended together — brings the heat that ties the whole plate together. It is messy, communal, and unforgettable, the taste of a Ghanaian evening. The pepper sauce is not optional — it is the bridge between the tangy dough and the smoky fish.

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    Step by stepInstructions

    1. Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot. Add the banku flour and salt, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon.
    2. Keep stirring and pressing the dough for 8 to 10 minutes as it thickens and turns smooth and stretchy. Add a splash of hot water if it gets too stiff.
    3. Shape the dough into smooth balls with wet hands and keep them warm, covered.
    4. Mix the ginger, garlic, lime juice, cayenne, and 1 tsp salt into a paste and rub it over the fish.
    5. Grill or pan-fry the fish in the oil over medium-high heat for 5 to 6 minutes per side, until crisp and cooked through.
    6. Blend the tomatoes, onion, and scotch bonnet into a chunky sauce and season with salt.
    7. Serve the warm banku balls alongside the fish with the pepper sauce.
    8. To eat, pinch off a piece of banku, dip it in the sauce, and enjoy it with a bite of fish.

    💡 Chef tips & storage

    Banku flour from an African grocery skips the long fermentation step and still tastes right. Keep the dough moving as it cooks — that constant stirring builds the smooth, stretchy texture.

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    Recipe details

    Prep20 min
    Cook40 min
    Servings4
    CategoryDinner
    PublishedAugust 17, 2026
    Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes

    Hi, I'm Emily 🧡

    Hi, I'm Emily — the cook behind My Comfort Recipes. Simple, tested comfort food for real weeknights, written down the way grandma would. Pull up a chair. More about me →

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