Baked Kelewele

Ingredients

• 3 large ripe plantains
• 1 thump size of ginger
• 1/3 medium red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon grains of paradise*
• 3 calabash nutmeg (hwediaba/ehuru*)
• 3 grains of selim (hwentia/uda*)
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1-2 tablespoons of dried birds eye chilli (or 1 scotch bonnet/habanero pepper)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (add more or less depending on your preference)
• 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil or melted coconut oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Grind up the dry spices in a mortar and pestle (or spice grinder) then set aside

2. 2

   Mash up the onion and ginger (you can either use a small blender or grate the onion and ginger and mix them together)

3. 3

   Combine the onion and ginger paste with the dry spices and salt. Mix everything well.

4. 4

   Wash, peel and chop the plantains into bite size pieces. To do this cut it in half along the seed line. Then cut along the seed line again till it looks like four sticks from each plantain. Cut pieces diagonally for bite size pieces.

5. 5

   Mix the spice blend and plantains and set aside for at least 30 mins.

6. 6

   After marinating, mix the plantains with the melted coconut oil and place on a lined tray (I use a silicon mat because it is more eco-friendly and non stick, but parchment is a great alternative).

7. 7

   Bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 425 F. Check on the plantains just to make sure they are not burning. You can flip them halfway for an even browning but be careful as soft plantains can be harder to flip. If you want to use an airfryer, 20 minutes at 350°F is a good alternative.

8. 8

   Once the time is up, serve with roasted peanuts for a sweet and savoury snack.