I hope everyone had a lovely week filled with lots of good food! This week I didn't have a lot of time to make a big elaborate meal so I just made a simple snack. I was provided with the suggestion to make "Kelewele": a Ghanian food which is essentially deep fried plantains. I got the recipe from www.congocookbook.com. It's fairly simple in terms of seasoning and the cooking process is also easy.
4-6 ripe plantains cut into bite sized pieces (the recipe calls for cubed)
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
enough vegetable oil for deep frying the plantains.
I also added in 1/4 tsp cinnamon
Grind all the spices together and mix with water. Toss plantains in seasoning mix to coat and let sit 10-20 minutes. While letting plantains sit, heat oil in deep skillet to 350C. ( I didn't have a thermometer, so I just kept putting in a plantain piece until it would start to fry). Fry plantains until golden brown, turning once. Place fried plantain pieces on a dish with paper towel to absorb excess oil and keep warm in oven while frying the rest. Serve immediately.
I was initially excited to make this recipe as I've had plantains in the past done in a similar fashion, but more as medallions instead of cube or pieces. My previous experience with plantains was an excellent one. Unfortunately, I found today's experience somewhat disappointing. There wasn't much flavour, and the texture wasn't the greatest. I think if I were to make these again, I'd cut the plantains into medallions, increase the seasoning at LEAST twofold, and (although not authentic at this point) create a dip for the medallions, maybe something with lobster... yummy!
I would like some feedback, if anyone has tried them, or if there are any suggestions on how I could make this better, please let me know!
Thanks for reading, and happy cooking!
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