Burkina Faso | Main dish

Benga

Name: Benga
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 95 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Burkina Faso, West Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups black-eyed peas, soaked overnight; 1½ cups long-grain rice, rinsed; 3 tbsp oil; 2 large onions, sliced; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 whole hot pepper; 7 cups water; salt, to taste

Burkinabe rice and beans plate, simple, nourishing, and usually finished with tomato-onion sauce or chili oil.

Country

Burkina Faso

Region

West Africa

Time

95 min

Serves

Level

easy

Explore Burkina Faso recipes Browse AfroKitchen

Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Benga means beans in Moore and the dish carries that simplicity proudly: beans, rice, sauce, pepper, and a pot that can feed a household.

What the dish tastes like

Burkinabe rice and beans plate, simple, nourishing, and usually finished with tomato-onion sauce or chili oil.

When to cook it

Best for Best for everyday lunch, school-night cooking, and market plates., with a easy cooking level and about 95 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Tomato sauce, chili oil, fried onions, or grilled chicken.

Regional lane

Burkina Faso national table. A verified Burkina Faso dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.

How you know it is ready

The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Chef board

Build the table around Benga

Tomato sauce, chili oil, fried onions, or grilled chicken.

Best route from here

Burkina Faso national table

Collections to keep cooking

Vegetarian African Classics

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Main dish

Beans

2 cups black-eyed peas, soaked overnight

Rice

1½ cups long-grain rice, rinsed

Sauce

3 tbsp oil 2 large onions, sliced 3 medium tomatoes, chopped 1 tbsp tomato paste 1 whole hot pepper

Liquid

7 cups water

Finishing

salt, to taste

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Burkina Faso

4 steps 95 min total easy

Cook beans

Simmer soaked beans in water until tender.

bean simmer 45:00

Add rice

Add rinsed rice and enough hot water to cover. Cook until the rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.

rice cook 22:00

Make sauce

Cook onions in oil, add tomatoes, tomato paste, pepper, and salt, then simmer into a spoonable sauce.

tomato sauce 18:00

Plate

Serve rice and beans with the sauce spooned over the top.

serve 02:00

Some households cook rice and beans together, while others serve tender beans over rice with sauce.

Benga

What to know before you cook

Build the table around Benga

Step-by-step method

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