King of Kelewele: Recipe #53

Today is my son-in-law's first official Father's Day (his Kumiwah is 3+ months old), and this post is dedicated to him. 

I have frequently mentioned my own love of kelewele, a wonderful Ghanaian snack. Koranteng, however,  is a a real kelewele connoisseur. The international wedding quilt we assembled for him and Abena in 2005 included a square from Ghana featuring his beloved plantain favorite. He also has a photo online from a Christmas feast at home in Ghana in 2009 that prominently displays some cubes of kelewele.

Whenever one  stops by his apartment in Berkeley, one always finds several plantains in various stages of ripening until he deigns them properly ready to be transformed. He expertly peels and slices the plantains, then portions out some of his  treasured "Maame's" kelewele spice mix prepared in large batches for him in Ghana, and brought periodically to California by visiting family members.

While I have not attempted to obtain the exact ingredients in "Maame's" special mixture, combining my taste experiences enjoying it with my time in Barbara Baeta's test kitchen in Ghana, I'm developing my own version. I happen to really like fresh ginger, plus I've borrowed Maame's use of fresh habenero peppers to replace dried red pepper, and I've used onion generously as well (too generously for the first unsuccessful batch). Feel free to tone down or even omit spices if you prefer a milder or simpler version.

First, assemble the ingredients. If you look carefully at the photo of the ingredients taken in Ghana when I first made kelewele, you'll see in the very center of the plate a small oval-shaped spice. I'm not sure what that was as I did not include it in my notes, but have decided to try using a little nutmeg to flavor the spice mixture, along with salt, aniseed, cloves, ginger, onion, red pepper, and hewntia.

So, here is Fran's  gourmet version of kelewele. 

Well, it's several testing hours later, and I still only have an in-progress working recipe. I thought it would be easy, but you know, it seldom is on the first try. My initial attempt had way too much onion, not enough aniseed or ginger. Plus, I did it all by hand: ground the hard spices in a marble mortar and pestle, finely grated the onion and ginger by hand, and blended the fresh hot pepper coarsely in an electric blender, then finished it in the marble mortar. Lots of work, but as soon as I coated the ripe plantain and put it in the deep fryer, I knew I had too much onion.

For the second effort, I adjusted amounts and coasrely chopped the ginger and onion and broke the hwentia into pieces, then simply ground everything in an electric blender with a couple of tablespoons of water (using an inverted glass canning jar since I learned that they'll fit on most blenders). Better, but when I coated the plantain before frying it, the coating was stringy and stuck in clumps onto the cut-up plantain.

The 3rd time I squeezed out the coarse fibers and just used some of the liquid to coat the plantains, and this seemed to work best.

However, on top of everything else, part of the secret in making good kelewele is having the plantains ripe enough, so the sweetness comes through and they kind of carmellize on the outside. It's hard to come by properly ripened plantains in central Pennsylvania, and I had to use some that were not quite ready, so that added to the difficulty.

 Recipe #53: Classic Kelewele (spicy fried  ripe plantain cubes)

However, here are my step-by-step directions to date. Feel free to give me any feedback on the recipe.

1. Assemble ingredients:  You'll need several ounces of fresh ginger (say, 2 to 4 oz), a teaspoon of anise seed, about 1/4 teaspoon salt (or more to taste), 1 teaspoon whole cloves, about 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (optional), about 3 or 4 sticks hwentia (to be purchased online or at a West African grocery), part of a yellow or red onion (to get a couple of tablespoons), and a fresh red habanero or dried red pepper flakes or ground red pepper, to taste (I'd start with about half a teaspoon and add more the spicier you like it), 4 slightly over-ripe plantains (will be somewhat black and soft, but not completely).

2. The easiest way to make the seasoning mixture is to grind the ingredients together (except for the plantains!): peel and chop a little onion coarsely (to get a couple of tablespoons), peel and coarsely chop a few ounces of fresh ginger (I don't recommend using dried ground ginger), some red pepper, fresh or dried as explained above (if using fresh, cut off the top and make sure the seeds are not black; for a milder flavor, remove the seeds and membranes before adding to the blender, using a small container like a canning jar (it's easier to blend them in a smaller container), 3 or 4 broken sticks of hwentia (adds a spicy, peppery, but not hot, flavor), and 2 or 3 tablespoons of water. You may need to remove the jar and shake it then replace it a few times to blend the seasonings completely.If you  use a regular blender containert, you'll probably need to stop several times and use a rubber spatula to push the mixture down as you blend it.

Pour the seasoning mixture into a small bowl and let it sit while you peel and cut the plantains.As I mentioned, the third time I made this, I squeezed out the fibrous strings and used mostly the seasoned liquid left behind (Koranteng, or any other kelewele experts, if you're reading this, maybe you can comment on how much of the spice mixture to use for about 4 plantains? Also, do you ever have problems with clumping of the seasonings?)

Prepare the plantains. I usually cut off each end, then make a slit along one side to peel the plantain, cut the plantain in half lengthwise, the cut each half as below.

Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the seasoning mixture over the plantains and stir well to coat. Let them sit for several minutes while you heat up oil in a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pan to about  350 degrees F. Make sure the oil will not bubble over when you begin adding the plantains. Use a long-handled slotted spoon (my son-in-law has a fancy deep-fryer with a lid; I just use a simple deep-fryer without a basket. A frying pan or other pan would also work). Cook them in several batches, stirring to make sure they do not stick together.

When they are nicely browned on all sides, remove and drain them on paper towels. Plantains can be eaten with bean stew, but I prefer them with dry roasted peanuts.They're best eaten immediately or soon after cooking.

And again, Koranteng: Happy Daddy's Day. I'll bet Kumiwah grows up loving kelewele, too.

P.S. Here's a photo taken a few weeks ago while I was in Berkeley of one of the glorious kelewele batches Koranteng prepared for us:

       

Recipe #17: Tatale (ripe plantain pancakes)

I'm partial to versatile ripe plantains. One of my favorite ways to cook (and eat!) them is as a simple savory (no syrup, please) pancake as in this photo from a party in Ghana.

The first, and possibly the hardest, step is to find ripe-to-overripe plantains. In colder weather in central Pennsylvania this is difficult. I'm not sure if the imported green plantains are held at too cold a temperature or something, but half the time the plantains will not ripen, even if you put them in a paper bag with apples, keep them in a warm room, in sunlight, etc.), but just get wooden and rot. In the summer I rarely have that problem. However, I generally buy twice as many plantains as I need two or three weeks before I need them ripened.


I cooked tatale (aka tetare) a couple of weeks ago, and made boiled bambara beans to go with them. This is a classic way to eat tatale in Ghana. It's also the only dish I know of, apart from porridge, where sugar is served on the side and may be added to taste (though some purists insist that even that's a foreign intrusion).

BTW, I didn't have any rice flour so I threw some long grain rice into a blender and made my own. It worked fine. You may also substitute cornmeal for all or part of the flours.

Here's the basic recipe:

3 or 4 large over-ripe plantains, about 1 1/2 lbs. after peeling), or about 3 cups when sliced
4 oz. of onion (about 2 medium), or shallots, finely grated
2 oz rice flour (about 1/3-1/2 cup)
2 oz wheat flour (about 1/2 cup)
2 t dried ground red cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
3 t fresh grated or ground ginger
about a cup of oil for pan frying (palm oil is traditional if you can get it. I usually make these on a nonstick electric griddle so I don't need too much)
1/4-1/2 t salt (optional)
a cup of water

For equipment, I recommend:
paper towels, for draining the pancakes (that's because I don't want too much oil. They would likely omit this step in Ghana);
a frying pan or griddle (nonstick is nice);
something to mash the plantains (I would've used a potato masher but it's still in boxes since our last sabbatical, so I ended up squeezing them through a potato ricer and then mashing them with a fork. A mortar and pestle would also work (they use a rounded wooden mortar in Ghana), but I'd stay away from a blender or food processor if you want the proper texture (if that doesn't bother you, blend away);
a knife
a grater (for the ginger and onion)
a cup

Directions:

Cut the ends off, and make a horizontal slit along one side, then peel each of the plantains and slice them into slices about 1/4 - 1/2 inch thick. As mentioned above, traditionally these would then be pounded in a mortar with a wooden pestle. It should not be completely smooth. If you feel you must use a blender or food processor, keep some of the plantain out and mash it and add it after you've blended the rest.

Stir in the grated ginger, dried red pepper and grated onions. Add the rice and wheat flours (or cornmeal if you prefer). Add a cup of water and stir again.

It's good to let the mixture sit for 20 - 30 minutes before you cook the pancakes. The batter can actually be made a day ahead and refrigerated until you're ready to cook the tatale.

Heat a heavy frying pan or griddle as you would for regular pancakes (medium high heat). I use a pastry brush to brush palm oil on the pan, then drop the batter onto the griddle (either small, like "silver dollar" pancakes, or somewhat larger, say using 1/3 to 1/2 cup batter.) I usually use a spoon to spread the batter into a circle shape.

As soon as the tatale is firm enough to turn without breaking, carefully turn it over with a pancake turner and press the turner down firmly on the pancake to flatten it. Continue doing this every few minutes while the pancakes cook.

Drain the pancakes on paper towels and add a little more oil to the pan for each batch of tatale. Avoid stacking them--spread them out to drain, and serve them on a large platter. The tatale can be made in the morning and kept warm in a low oven, but will become tough if heated too long. A better alternative is to zap them briefly in the microwave to heat them before serving them. Both Barbara and I like our tatale quite brown, but if you prefer it less crusty, cook it to suit your taste.

Serving suggestions:

The classic way to serve tatale is with boiled bambara beans (aboboe) as in the photo above, or bean stew. Tatale and aboboe is a wonderful, elegantly simple party snack, especially pleasant when washed down with cold glasses of beer. It is also hearty enough for nonvegetarians to adore. Peanuts supplanted bambara beans in much of West Africa. I'll bet if you boiled fresh peanuts you'd get a tasty substitute, though I've never tried it. I usually serve tatale with bean stew since it's difficult for me to get dried bambara beans. Some organic farmers in my town tried to grow some for me, but the plants did never fruited. Watch for recipes for boiled bambara beans and bean stew soon.

Kelewele: My favorite Ghanaian Snack

I'm in the midst of packing to spend a year in Brazil and Ghana but just caught sight of a bag of Nina International's "All Natural UDA Hwentia," sitting on my desk. It made me wish for some fresh kelewele, one of my all-time favorite snack foods from Ghana. Western cookbooks generally describe kelewele as something like "spicy fried plantain cubes," but that is like calling a sunset "beautiful." All the recipes I've seen in Western cookbooks are anemic versions of the best kelewele as it's prepared in Ghana. First of all, Western versions only call for salt, ginger, and dried red pepper, but in Ghana in addition to grinding fresh ginger and onion, they also commonly pound and add sekoni (aniseed), hwentia (a kind of long black stick I've yet to name botanically. Can anyone help me out?), and cloves. The plantain should be very ripe and sweet, and nicely coated with the mixture before it is deep-fried. The plantain is generally cut on a diagonal rather than into a straight cube. Kelewele tastes superb accompanied with dry roasted peanuts. The sweet, spicy, and chewy plantain is a perfect counter to the mild crunchy/creamy flavor and texture of the peanuts. Both go well with an ice cold beer or drink like ginger beer or bissap. Nina International distributes many West African foods through its office in Maryland (PO Box 6566, Hyatsville, MD 20789). More information on suppliers is available at African Food Stores
Rest assured, Barbara Baeta and I will include an authentic recipe for gourmet kelewele in our upcoming book.