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Benga (Savory Black-Eyed Pea Stew with Potash and Oil)
Tender, velvety black-eyed peas simmered with potash and soumbala, served with fragrant peanut oil and chili.
The story
In the bustling streets of Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso, Benga is the definitive working-class lunch, fueling civil servants, taxi drivers, and university students daily from metal street basins. The culinary secret of Burkinabè street-side benga masters is the controlled use of potash, which breaks down the pea hemicellulose rapidly, resulting in exceptionally tender beans coated in a naturally thick, savory sauce. It is rarely eaten plain, custom dictates finishing each bowl with a liberal splash of golden peanut oil and a dusting of kan-kan spice or red chili.
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