Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat)
Freshly grated coconut cooked with sugar and banana into a soft, chewy candy scented with vanilla and nutmeg.
Seychellois · easy · serves 6
prep 10 min · cook 25 min
~450 cal · 3g protein · 55g carbs · 26g fat · 8g fiber · 44g sugars · 24g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Nouga koko ek bannann, coconut nougat with banana, is a soft Seychellois candy and a childhood favourite across the islands. Freshly grated mature coconut is cooked down with brown sugar and mashed ripe banana until it thickens into a sweet, chewy mass fragrant with vanilla and freshly grated nutmeg.
The name borrows from the French nougat, though this island version keeps none of the egg white and swaps the almonds of Europe for the coconut of the tropics. The classic banana to use is the slightly sour bannann mil, a variety brought to the Seychelles in the nineteenth century, whose gentle tartness balances the sugar, but any ripe banana will do the job.
Cooled until it firms enough to cut or roll, the nougat is eaten in small pieces as a treat, sweet and deeply coconutty with a caramel edge from the browned sugar. It is Creole home cooking at its most nostalgic, the taste of an island grandmother's kitchen.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 cups freshly grated mature coconut
1 cup brown sugar
2 ripe banana, mashed
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1 pinch of salt
Instructions
1
Put the grated coconut, brown sugar, mashed banana, vanilla seeds, nutmeg and salt in a heavy pan and stir together.
2
Cook over medium-low heat, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar melts and the mixture thickens, darkens a little and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 20 minutes.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep stirring and keep the heat gentle. The sugar can catch and turn bitter fast, and constant stirring is what gives the nougat its even, chewy set.
3
Tip the mixture onto an oiled tray and press it out about half an inch thick.
4
Let it cool and firm up, then cut or break it into small pieces to serve.
Seychellois Creole home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Victoria. Everything in the pantry follows from being an isolated archipelago in the Indian Ocean. Spice and technique arrived with Indian workers, the French left the base of the language and some of the sauces, and African cooks shaped the rest, so one plate can read as three cuisines at once.
🗺️
Seychelles. The coco de mer, the largest seed in the plant kingdom at up to eighteen kilos, grows wild on just two islands here, Praslin and Curieuse, and its stronghold at the Vallee de Mai is a UNESCO site. The granitic inner islands are unusual for mid-ocean: they are a fragment of continental crust left behind by the break-up of Gondwana rather than volcanic or coral, which is why they hold soil and forest that atolls cannot.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Seychelles
Seychellois Fish CurryA fragrant Creole coconut fish curry brightened with lime, ginger, and fresh curry leaves.
Ladob BanannRipe plantains simmered soft in sweet, vanilla-and-nutmeg coconut milk, a Creole breakfast or dessert from the Seychelles.
Kari ZouritOctopus simmered until tender in a fragrant coconut curry with ginger, garlic, and island masala, a Seychelles classic.
Browse all Seychelles recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Keep chilled and covered, and enjoy within 2 to 3 days.
Make it a Seychelles meal
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Frequently asked questions
What is Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat)?
Freshly grated coconut cooked with sugar and banana into a soft, chewy candy scented with vanilla and nutmeg.
Where does Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) come from?
Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) is a Seychellois dish from Victoria, Seychelles.
Can Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Nouga Koko ek Bannann (Coconut and Banana Nougat) take to make?
About 35 minutes total (10 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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