How To Make Banga Rice

Banga rice is a traditional Nigerian rice cuisine prepared with palm fruit extract.

Just picture it as a local jollof rice. It is an easy, refreshing change to your palette that your taste buds will surely thank you for.

Ingredients

• 700g (1 De Rica or 4 cups) long grain parboiled rice.
• 400g palm fruit extract, canned or made from scratch
• Beef Stock
• 2 medium smoked fish – deboned and broken into small pieces
• Orunbebe stick (optional)
• 1 red onion – chopped
• 1 tsp banga spices
• 1 tbsp crayfish (optional)
• 1 tbsp ground cayenne pepper
• 2 seasoning cubes
• Salt (to taste)
• Dry or fresh habanero pepper (atarodo) (to taste) – diced
• Scent leaves (to taste) – rinsed

How to prepare

1. Wash out the starch in your rice with hot water. Drain, pour cold water over it. Drain again and set aside.
2. Mix the banga concentrate in a pot of hot water so that all the sand and particles can sink to the bottom. Decant slowly into another pot for cooking your rice. Make sure no sand transfers to the new pot.
3. Add beef stock if you have, onion, banga spices, orunbebe stick, smoked fish, crayfish, crushed seasoning cubes, salt and pepper to your taste. Make sure the liquid is enough to cook the rice you need. Reduce the heat, cover and leave to boil.
4. Add the washed rice and cook on low heat until it softens. Then turn up the heat and let it boil.
5. When the rice has absorbed almost all the liquid, stir with a wooden spoon and lower the heat. Add your shredded scent leaves.
6. If the rice is still too hard, seal the rice in with foil paper or a plastic bag and cover the pot for a few minutes until the rice is properly cooked and has absorbed all the water. Stir properly and take off the heat.
7. Serve hot or sprinkle a little banga soup on top if you have any.

Enjoy.