Kelewele

Method

1. Peel the ginger and roughly chop it with the red onion and scotch bonnet (remove the seeds for less heat). Blend or pound with the nutmeg, cloves, salt and water to a fairly smooth, wet paste. Wash your hands after handling the chilli.

   Add in this stepFresh ginger 15 gRed onion ½Scotch bonnet pepper ½Ground nutmeg 1 pinchGround cloves 1 pinchSalt ½ tspWater 1 tbsp

2. Cut off both ends of each plantain, slit the skin lengthways and peel it off. Cut the flesh into 2 cm cubes or thick diagonal slices. Toss well with the spice paste so every piece is coated and leave to marinate for 20 min. The riper the plantain, the sweeter and darker the kelewele.

   Add in this stepVery ripe plantains (yellow with plenty of black spots) 2

3. Pour the oil into a dry, heavy 20 cm pot: it should be at least 4 cm deep but fill no more than one third of the pot. Heat over medium-high heat for 7 min, to 175 °C. Without a thermometer, drop in one piece: it should sizzle steadily straight away and float up within a few seconds. Never leave hot oil unattended, keep a lid next to the pot and never pour water on burning oil.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil for deep-frying 600 ml

   medium-high heat

4. Shake off excess paste and lower the plantain into the oil with a slotted spoon, a handful at a time; do not crowd the pot (number of batches: 2). Fry each batch over medium-high heat for 4 min, turning now and then, until deep golden brown with dark caramelised edges. Plantain sugar burns quickly: if pieces darken in under 2 minutes, lower the heat.

   medium-high heat

5. Lift out onto a rack or paper towels and drain for a minute; let the oil come back to temperature between batches. Serve hot with the roasted peanuts, the classic Ghanaian pairing.

   Add in this stepRoasted peanuts 40 g