Kelewele is a very popular feature in the daily lives of Ghanaians and it gets more popular during the nights when vendors come out to sell.
Wondering how to locate the nearest vendor? Well, no need for a GPS tracking device or Google map to locate them because the unique aroma of the crispy spicy plantain is sure to locate your smell senses from 30 yards away, seriously.
Granted the popularity and easy accessibility of the snack may not be motivation enough for you to make it yourself, be assured that by the time you are done reading this, you wouldn’t hesitate to make them the main attraction in your next get-together at home, alongside some homemade sobolo.
Just a brief one before we get to it. Plantains have been known to boost the immune system, promote healthy brain function, and a great source of magnesium which aids in controlling blood glucose levels through insulin regulation, not to talk of the health benefits of proportionate amounts of pepper and local spices on the body.
So you see, it’s not all taste bud satisfying, you’re doing yourself a healthy favour too. Straight to work now!
You would need:
2 fingers ripe plantain
Vegetable oil
Ground ginger, bulb onion and red pepper/chilli paste
1 teaspoon powdered local spices of choice
Salt to taste
Procedure
1. Wash and peel plantain
2. Dice plantain into bite sizes
3. Marinate the plantain pieces with the ginger mix paste and your preferred amount of powdered local spices. Do this by mixing the spices with the plantain in a bowl and allowing the plantain to soak up the spices as you would when seasoning chicken. Salt to taste.
4. After a while, deep fry the plantain until golden brown. Dish out on oil absorbing sheets to soak up any excess oil from the plantain. After a few minutes, kelewele is ready to serve.
Serve with roasted groundnuts. Kelewele can also be served alongside waakye, fried rice, jollof rice, black pepper
