In Ghana kelewele is a popular street food served my vendors across the city. It is simply fried spiced plantain served alone, as a side or with other finger food like roasted peanuts. The recipe for kelewele is extremely easy to make and quite honestly makes the perfect snack. I like to use plantain that is just ripe to make mine but if you want sweeter, softer kelewele with an oval darker finish after frying due to the caramelization of the plantain. If you have been looking for a different way to change up your normal fried plantain try this recipe out.
Kelewele
Ingredients
- 5 ripe plantains with little black spots
- 1/4 white onion roughly chopped or 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 3 inch piece of ginger roughly chopped
- 1 or 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Neutral oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, cut both ends off the plantain. This will make it easy to grab the skin of the plantains. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the plantain, cut only as deep as the peel. Remove plantain peel by pulling it back
- Cut plantains in half lengthwise and cut each half into small pieces on a diagonal and set aside.
- Pulse onions, scotch bonnet, ginger in a blender or food processor, with just enough water to facilitate blending salt. Set aside. If using onion powder, omit raw onion.
- In a large bowl, toss the plantain and ginger spice mixture together.
- Let it rest for about 5 minutes to absorb the flavour.
- Heat up a large skillet or cast iron or wok with neutral oil until hot but not smoking. Depending on the size of your pan, the amount of oil can vary but I prefer to use a wok and fill at least ½ full with oil.
- Fry the plantain cubes in batches, turning once, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not overcrowd the pan (it will cause the plantains to be soggy and absorb excess oil).
- Transfer the fried plantains to a plate lined with paper towels using a slotted spoon. Serve warm.
