Every Ghanaian kitchen faces the same problem sooner or later: a bunch of plantain left too long, its skin turned black and the fruit inside soft and sweet. Rather than throw it away, cooks mash it with flour and spices and fry spoonfuls in hot oil. The result is tatale, a thick, golden pancake with a sweet and spicy taste. It is one of the most loved ways to use plantain in Ghana, sold by street vendors and made in homes across Accra.
Plantain, the mix and frying
Tatale needs very ripe plantain, the softer the better. When the skin is mostly black, the fruit is sweet and easy to mash. Firmer, yellow plantain is better for kelewele or frying in slices. The plantain is peeled and mashed or blended, then mixed with a little flour, often corn flour or wheat flour, to bind it. Grated ginger, chopped onion, pepper and salt are added. Some cooks add a pinch of nutmeg.
Spoonfuls of the mixture are dropped into hot oil and flattened slightly. They are fried until brown on both sides and slightly crisp at the edges, then drained.
Kaklo, beans and waste not
Kaklo is a close cousin, made from similar ingredients but shaped into balls and fried until crisp. Some sellers make both from the same batch of plantain. Tatale is often eaten with beans stew, especially red red made with palm oil. The sweet plantain balances the savoury beans. On its own, tatale is a filling snack. Street sellers sell it wrapped in paper, and children buy it after school.
Tatale is a good example of thrift in Ghanaian cooking. It turns plantain that might otherwise be thrown away into something many people prefer to fresh plantain.
Variations, buying and home
Some cooks add more pepper for heat, while others keep it mild for children. Some use less flour for a softer pancake. Tatale is sold by roadside vendors, especially in the evening, and at chop bars that serve beans and plantain dishes. Because it needs only a few ingredients, tatale is easy to make at home and is often cooked on weekends.
A black plantain looks like a fruit past saving. In a Ghanaian kitchen, it is often the one the cook was waiting for.
