Christmas is the grandfather of all gift-giving ceremonies. Control the holiday blues by learning how to prepare this local dish for the family and friends especially after Christmas Sunday service.
Ingredients
1 pound of Beef
1/2 pound of Wele (cow skin)
4 fingers of medium sized herrings
1/2 medium sized Salmon
1 pound chopped Okro
A small bowl of diced tomatoes
3 large Onion
Ginger
Garlic
10 - 15 peppers (kpakpo shito)
3 or 4 Garden Eggs
A sizeable amount of powered Shrimps
A small amount powered parley
1/2 cup Palm Oil
1 Corn Dough
1/2 Cassava Dough
Salt
How to Prepare
1. Wash the beef and wele into a clean saucepan and add half of the onion, salt, parley, garlic, ginger, powered shrimps and water.
2. While the meat is steaming, put another saucepan fire and add palm oil
3. Alllow the onion to simmer until it start browning, add grinded pepper for cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add the diced tomatoes to cook under a regulated heat till the liquid evaporates and it begins to fry.
5. Chop the okro. Cut the stalk of the garden eggs, remove the seed from the skin and chop into small sizes. Put the garden eggs and okro in a pot with enough water to cover to boil for 10-15 minutes till it bubbles up.
6. Wash the salmon and herring, split them, remove the bones and wash thoroughly.
7. Add the steamed beef, wele, salmon, herrings and cooked garden eggs and okro.
8. Stir gently and lower it to simmer gently.
9. Put another saucepan on fire for the banku, add water and salt, cover to boil.
10. Wash your hands and mix and mash up the corn and cassava dough in a bowl to form a paste picking out all the lumps and fibre that are in it.
11. Put the watery paste in the saucepan and stir gently until it starts to thicken.
12. As it progresses, it will start to gather at the bottom of the spoon and will need more and more force to stir it. Reduce the heat. Now use a dish cloth or towel to hold the pot in place, and still with the wooden spoon, start to knead it. Do this for about 5 minutes resting intermitently.
13. Add 1 cup of water and use the wooden spoon to make a few holes in the mass. Increase the fire and cover.
14. Turn it a few times during this process as the mixture bowls. When the water is almost finished, turn down the heat and start kneading the banku again. Another 5 minutes should do it.
15. Use a small bowl to shape the banku into your preferred serving sizes.
16. Serve the banku with the okro stew.