Ducana are from the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, but are also enjoyed on several other islands. They are part of my ultimate dumpling guide, so check that out if you haven’t had the chance yet!
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Ducana Ingredients
There is a lot of freedom with what to put in these ducana. The only things that are mandatory are sweet potato, flour, and coconut. I used whole milk as well, but you can also use water or coconut milk. Whatever you have in your pantry!
I also wanted to give these a bit of a fruity note, so I added a mashed banana and raisins. You can add more or less sugar, if you want to make them more of a dessert or something like that. The only thing I would be careful of is the flour.
If you don’t add enough flour they won’t stay in a dumpling form, the ducana turn out more like the sweet potato casserole everyone has for Thanksgiving. Which still tastes good, just might be a little embarrassing.
Step By Step
First, wash and peel your sweet potatoes. Next, we need to grate them. I used a blender and added about 1/4 cup of milk to help it get started. You probably have to do one potato at a time and then empty the blender into a mixing bowl.
Try not to blend it too much, you don’t want a puree or pudding. Add it to a mixing bowl and start adding the rest of the ingredients for the ducana. Mashed banana, sugar, raisins, chopped nuts, butter, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, shredded coconut, vanilla extract, and flour.
Last, start to form the ducana dumplings. The shape is up to you. I think medium size rectangles work the best, but I made giant balls out of habit. Most importantly, shape them with your hands. If the dough does not hold the shape like a dough would, there isn’t enough flour in the mixture, and the ducana will stick to the tin foil.
Now, submerge them in a pot of boiling water for 30 to 45 minutes. If you made big balls like me, let them go for 45. Traditionally, these are wrapped in banana leaves, but I think most people won’t be able to find that. Of course, the ducana would not stick to the leaves, which is nice.
Serve with saltfish for the optimum Caribbean experience. If you want to see more dumpling recipes, try my corundas, made with cornmeal, bacon grease, and jalapenos.
Ducana
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- blender
- Large pot
- aluminum foil
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes grated
- 1 banana mashed
- ½ cup milk
- 4 tbsp butter softened
- 1 cup sugar
- ¾ cup nuts chopped
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 cup raisins
- 2 cups shredded coconut
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups flour
Instructions
- Wash and peel the sweet potatoes. Either manually grate them, or put them in a blender or food processor.
- Mash a banana and add it to a mixing bowl. Add all the other ingredients to the bowl. Mix thoroughly until combined.
- Spoon mixture onto a sheet of aluminum foil and close. Repeat until all dumpling mix has been used up.
- Boil a large pot of water and submerge the ducana for 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how big you made them. Take out and enjoy!
Nutrition
This recipe isn’t 100% authentic. We dont use sweet potatoes.
What would you recommend instead?
This was my first time making these but I grew up in the Caribbean eating them since I didn’t have any sweet potatoes on hand, I used white potatoes with the bananas and they came out really tasty but I did omit nuts and raisins. Also, I used coconut milk. My 2 year old son can’t stop eating them, so I’d say they were a hit 😋! Thanks for sharing.
Glad you liked them! And really happy I got the little one’s approval as well!
Dennis,
I just heard about Duncana on a PBS program I saw recently on Antiqua. They also recommend coconut milk and/or grated coconut.
I will give the recipe a try with both Nubian’s white potato suggestion, and with sweet potatoes…the latter being much more nutritious, of course,
and probably better suited to the nutmeg and cinnamon.
Thank you so much for this recipe, and for sharing it with us. This is the first time I have been on your site. I also appreciate the lack of ads….
From a British-Virginian, in Gloucester, VA
Keep the island recipes coming (We are vegetarian, so this is a wonderful dish for us.)
Dennis,
I just saw the ‘spam’ joke — good one. Worthy of Monty Python.
Are you on the stage? In television or film?
Nuala
Film, nothing big yet though. Maybe one day!
Have you tried ducana with grated carrots omitting the nuts but include all the other ingredients. If you want the ducana to keep shape while cooking you can place in parchment paper then foil paper and fold in the ends tightly.Overall nicely done.
Haven’t tried it that way yet, but that sounds real good. Would add a little more natural sweetness I’d imagine.
There is noooooooooo banana in ducana. Insult to this national dish
Sweet potato, coconut, flour, sugar, lil essence, some use raisins… And just a bit of carrot ( not everybody does this)….. There you go …
Nice attempt. While it’s not authentic, I’m sure it was yummy.
Some feedback… Antiguans don’t put nuts or bananas in ducana. We also use white sweet potatoes which can be found in Spanish markets as ‘Boniata’. Traditionally the coconut and sweet potatoes are grated. While this is hard work and seems insignificant, it greatly impacts the texture and quality of the ducana. Try it both ways and you’ll notice the difference.
Look forward to seeing your next experiment. I like that you’ve found and are experimenting with Antiguan food.
Thanks so much for the feedback! Any other Antiguan food you suggest I try? I would love to get some first hand knowledge of the traditional ingredients and techniques.