Ghana | Snack

Kelewele

Name: Kelewele
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Ghana, West Africa
Ingredients: 4 whole ripe plantains, cut into cubes; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 2 cloves garlic, grated; 2 tbsp onion, grated; ½ tsp cayenne or ground chile; ¼ tsp ground cloves; ½ tsp ground nutmeg or calabash nutmeg; 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying; 1 tsp salt

Ghanaian ripe plantain cubes marinated with ginger, garlic, chile, cloves, nutmeg, and salt, then fried until caramelized.

Country

Ghana

Region

West Africa

Time

25 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Ghana recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 4

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Snack

Plantain

4 whole ripe plantains, cut into cubes

Spice Paste

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated 2 cloves garlic, grated 2 tbsp onion, grated (optional) ½ tsp cayenne or ground chile ¼ tsp ground cloves ½ tsp ground nutmeg or calabash nutmeg

Cooking

2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Pantry

1 tsp salt

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Ghana

4 steps 15 min prep 10 min cook (check method) 25 min total easy

Make spice paste

Mix ginger, garlic, onion if using, chile, cloves, nutmeg, and salt into a rough paste.

Season plantain

Toss plantain cubes with the spice paste and rest briefly.

Marinate 15:00

Fry in batches

Heat oil and fry plantain in batches until dark golden and crisp at the edges.

Fry batch 04:00

Drain and serve

Drain well and serve hot with roasted peanuts or beans.

Some spice pastes include onion, anise, grains of selim, or calabash nutmeg.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Evening snack. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 25 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Roasted peanuts, grilled meat, beans, red red, or a cold malt drink

Follow the collection

Kelewele appears in 3 AfroKitchen collections. Start with Quick & Easy if you want more dishes in the same mood. Quick & Easy

Regional lane

Rice, beans, and street table. Waakye, jollof, kelewele, and lunch-counter plates with many sides.

Chef watch-outs

Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.

How you know it is ready

The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.

Pantry lane

shito, palm oil, sorghum leaves, fermented corn dough, groundnut

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Kelewele recipe from Ghana — Kelewele finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Kelewele

Roasted peanuts, grilled meat, beans, red red, or a cold malt drink

Best route from here

Rice, beans, and street table

Collections to keep cooking

West African Street Food Across Africa Showstoppers

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