Banga stew, also known as “Ofe akwu” in the Igbo language is stew made from palm oil sludge. When my friend told me about Banga rice, I was curious as to how she would cook it and what the outcome would be. I’ll be honest, I had my doubts. However, when she was done cooking, I had a taste and loved everything about it, from the native spicy taste to the unforgettable palm oil after taste. I also hear it is often called native jollof rice. Little wonder, how it was a major delicacy served at a friend’s traditional wedding in Delta state. For the record, the Niger-Deltans are the ones mostly known for this amazing delicacy.

The next time I wanted to cook rice, I decided to try my hand at Banga rice. Its follows the same procedures through which regular jollof rice is made, with only a few tweaks in technique. The ingredients for this meal can be easily found in the market, but if you are in markets outside the eastern part of Nigeria, you have to look for the Igbo/delta women food sellers. They would know what to give you for the best results. One ingredient you may find challenging to get is fresh Banga nuts or palm nuts. However, if you can’t lay your hands on it, you can use fresh palm oil.

Banga Rice Recipe Ingredients

To cook Banga Rice, you would need;

• 1 bowl of Banga nuts or 2 serving spoons of fresh palm oil
• 2 smoked fishes (Medium)
• 2 cow skin or kpomo
• 500kg of beef
• 1 bunch of pumpkin leaves (Optional)
• 2 spoons of black pepper
• 2 tablespoons of crayfish
• 3 cubes of Maggi crayfish or any seasoning cube of your choice
• 4 cups of rice
• 1 tablespoon of Banga soup spice.
• Onions

How to Prepare Banga Rice

• If you are using fresh Banga nuts, it might take a longer time to prepare this delicacy because you have to extract the palm oil from the nuts by boiling them in hot water. When it is soft enough, put them in a mortar and pound till the skin of the nuts pull out from the nuts themselves. When you have achieved this, pour the pounded nuts in a sieve and add slightly hot water, wash the nut till the sludge comes out completely. You have to be very careful doing this, as too much water would make it too watery. So try as much as possible to use little water.
• When you have extracted the juice, keep aside, and work on the proteins. Wash and season the beef with half a teaspoon of salt, one Maggi crayfish cube, onions, and pepper. Cook it until it is soft. Then wash and debone the smoked fish. For the cow skin, make sure to select the soft ones in the market. Wash properly and dice into bits. Include the fish and the cow skin into the pot of boiling beef and let it cook for 10 minutes.
• For your rice, wash it properly until it is rid of the starch and the water almost transparent. Put in a sieve and drain thoroughly.
• In a new pot, pour in the Banga nuts extract and cook for 10 minutes. Afterward, add the spices: crayfish, pepper, salt, Maggi crayfish cubes, salt, and Banga stew spice. The Banga stew spice helps intensify the taste of the Banga nuts extract. Also, put the beef broth or stock (water from cooking the beef) and let it simmer.
• After 15 minutes, add the washed rice and cover the pot. Be very cautious about the water drying up, so top up once you notice it drying up.
• While the rice is cooking, use this time to wash your pumpkin leaves and dice them. Then set aside. This is optional anyway. If you love vegetables like me, you should include this. It gives the rice a unique taste and increases nutrient levels in your meal.
• At this point, the rice should be well cooked so that you can add the beef, fish and diced cow skin. Stir properly. Then put in the diced pumpkin leaves, cover the pot and cook for another 5 minutes.
• Stir one more time and serve.

Chef’s Recommendation

For those using just fresh palm oil, you would find your cooking time shorter than using the Banga nuts because all you have to do is pour in the palm oil and generally cook as though you were cooking jollof rice only in this case, vegetable oil is replaced with palm oil.

Bon Appetit!!!

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If you were raised in a Nigerian household, you would understand the phrase “Sunday is for rice and stew”. If this was not on the menu for lunch on Sundays after church, then it is either someone took the sun out of Sunday and put a different prefix. It’s a tradition of sorts that is followed religiously in most Nigerian homes.

However, eating the same stew style every time must eventually get boring. Which was exactly what happened to me, so I decided to experiment.

I tried cooking my stew for the first time using palm oil, and to be honest, it was a disaster. I later found out what I did wrongly whilst preparing the stew, and with a little help from a friend that hails from Delta state, I got it right. The only major difference between this stew and the regular stew is that the tomato puree is fried in red oil. But enough talking, let us get down to it.

Ingredients

Here’s a list of ingredients that you need in order to prepare palm oil stew in most cases:

• 7 bell peppers
• 4 cooking spoons of red oil
• 4-6 boiled eggs
• Assorted meat (Beef and shaki)
• Dried catfish fillets or shawa fillets
• 5 medium-sized firm tomatoes
• 2 big onions
• 4 tablespoons of crayfish powder
• 4 seasoning cubes
• 1 tablespoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of curry
• 1 cup dried prawns
• 3 scotch bonnets (Ata Rodo) 

Preparation Steps for Palm Oil Stew

1. Wash your bell peppers, tomatoes, scotch bonnet, and one onion bulb. Blend with very little water so that it has a consistency that is thick and coarse. Set aside.
2. Put some water to boil, get the dried catfish fillets, debone it, and remove the entrails, then place it in a bowl. Pour the hot water into the bowl and allow it to soak for 5 minutes so that it can soften. Drain the water afterward and keep it aside.
3. Wash your meat and shaki. Put it in the pot meant for cooking the stew. Cut the onion and chop one of the halves. Season the beef with half a table spoon of salt, one seasoning cube, chopped onions, and curry. Mix properly, then place on the stove with low heat. This process gives flavor to the meat and makes the meat release its juices, which will be used to cook it, till it dries completely. When it is dried, add water, at least two inches above the meat. Also, add the dried fish and allow it to boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the light and empty the contents of the pot into another bowl.
4. Once this is done, pour the red oil into the pot and heat it till it is translucent. Ensure that you carry out this process in low heat. This is to avoid your pot going up in flames. Once it is translucent, take a pinch of salt, and sprinkle in the oil. Pour in the remaining half of the chopped onions, and allow the onion to fry for 1 minute. Add the ground tomato, pepper and onions and stir in low heat.
5. Keep frying till the tomato is fried, add your meat, fish and meat stock. Also, add the prawns, seasoning cube, and ground crayfish. Add a little water if it is too thick and allow it to boil for an extra 5 minutes.
6. Once this is done, add the boiled eggs and turn off the heat.

Chef Recommendation:

Most people enjoy eating their palm oil stew a day later because by then the stew would have drenched the egg completely. The taste of the outcome is quite heavenly. Palm oil stew can be eaten with white rice or boiled yam.

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