Kaaklo Recipe (Ghanaian Plantain Fritters)
These plantain balls are a delicious Ghanaian special! They are simply made with sweet overripe plantains mashed and laced with condiments and spices, making each bite one to remember.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch overripe plantain 4 pieces
- 1 scotch bonnet
- 1 white onion chopped
- 1 thumb ginger
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper freshly cracked
- 4-6 cloves to be ground
- ⅓ cup cornstarch
- vegetable oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- In your spice grinder or manual grinder, grind up the cloves and black pepper if using whole corns. Do this until smooth, then set aside.
- Using your asanka or food processor, grind the scotch bonnet, onions and ginger until roughly smooth.
- Slice up and add in the plantains and continue to mash them up until it is well combined with the pepper mix
- Grate in your nutmeg, pour in the black pepper, cloves salt and cornstarch, mix well.
- Heat up your oil in a large skillet for deep-frying. When hot, reduce to medium heat.
- Use an ice cream scoop or spoon to scoop in equal portions of the plantain batter and begin to fry. Flip over intermittently to prevent burning.
- When it has browned, scoop them and lay them on a flat dish lined with a paper towel.
- Serve with alone with peanuts or with some beans stew.
Notes
Tips
- When scooping in the plantain batter, it is important not to overcrowd the oil to prevent the balls from sticking to each other.
- If you don't have cornstarch, you can use other substitutes such as all-purpose flour, roasted cornstarch etc.
- Regulate the heat to medium when frying the kaaklo. If not, you may end up with plantain balls burning on the outside but not properly cooked on the inside.