Читать книгу The Ghana Cookbook - Fran Osseo-Asare - Страница 22
ОглавлениеSNACKS, STREET FOODS & APPETIZERS
PLANTAINS
Plantains, those large, starchy relatives of the bananas we eat in North America, must be cooked before eating. This book contains recipes for them at all stages: green and hard, yellow and soft, and black and yellow and almost “reddish” when “over-ripe.” Ghana is reportedly the largest producer of plantains in West Africa—only Uganda and Rwanda are said to produce more on the continent. In Rwanda, plantains, sometimes called “cooking bananas,” are an important dietary staple and have been called “potatoes of the air.” Perhaps this is because, like potatoes, they are a major starch eaten with meals and they grow on trees rather than in the ground. Major growing areas in Ghana are the Eastern, Ashanti, and Brong-Ahafo regions.
COCOYAMS (TARO)
A variety of the tropical plant taro (Colocasia esculenta) is called “cocoyam” or “mankani” in West Africa. Both its leaves and the root (called a corm) are edible. Cocoyams can be peeled and thinly sliced and fried following the same procedure as for Green Plantain Chips (opposite page). They are slightly harder to slice because they are more slippery when peeling and slicing, but worth the effort. Use one small cocoyam per person. I usually buy cocoyams at an Asian market. They should be fresh, firm, hard, and hairy, with rings around the corm and no sprouts. Cocoyam chips have a different flavor and texture than potato chips, though they are also mild. As with plantains, the thinner the chips are cut, the crispier they are. I make mine paper thin, using a Y vegetable peeler.
When my husband and I were (literally) poor graduate students and married in Ghana in 1972, we cooked and served these at our wedding reception. They were inexpensive but elegant.
Green Plantain Chips
Makes 5 servings (6 strips each)
This is a popular snack food throughout western Africa. Inexpensive and easy to make, these are a sure way to impress your friends in the U.S. Freshly made plantain chips beat the store-bought ones any day. They are not sweet, quite unlike dried dessert banana chips.
Ingredients
2 large green plantains (each plantain makes 12 to 18 strips, depending on size)
Several cups of vegetable oil (like canola) for deep frying
Salt to taste
Directions
1. Rinse the plantains and peel by slicing off the end tips and making a slit lengthwise through the peel without cutting into the plantain itself. Use the tip of a knife to pry the peel loose to get started, then remove the peel by hand. Scrape off any fibrous strings on the plantain.
2. There are different ways to slice the plantain (see variations). I prefer making long very thin slices using a y-shaped vegetable peeler or a standard peeler. Lay them out flat on a large tray or baking sheet without touching one another as they are cut.
3. Fill a heavy pan or deep fryer no more than halfway with oil and heat the oil to 365 degrees F. (On my stovetop, the medium-high setting gives approximately the correct temperature, but it must be monitored and turned up and down to keep it there.)
4. Get about 18 slices ready and add to the preheated oil a few at a time. Do not add them all at once or they will clump. Nudge them as they are added to prevent them from sticking to each other. Stir with a long-handled spoon to ensure even cooking. Remove the chips with a slotted spoon in a few minutes when they are golden and crisp and drain them on a paper towel-lined colander or platter. (If the chips bend they are not fully cooked: they should be crispy, like potato chips.)
5. Salt to taste while they are still warm. After cooling, store in an airtight container.
Variations:
Sprinkle the chips with salt mixed with dried ground red pepper to taste.
Instead of strips, cut the plantain into thin rounds or ovals.
Troubleshooting: If a strip of plantain dropped into the oil sits on the bottom, the oil is too cold. If as soon as it is dropped in it comes to the top and almost immediately begins to brown, the oil is too hot.
Thinly sliced and fried plantain chips or strips are readily available in Ghana both salted and spiced. Other “chips” are increasingly being sold commercially in Ghana made from root vegetables such as sweet potatoes (atomo), cassava (duade), or cocoyams.
Savory Plantain Pancakes
Tatale
Makes 10 to 12 (using ½ cup batter) or 15 to 18 (using ⅓ cup batter)
I grew to love plantains in Ghana, and am especially partial to them when they are ripe (yellow) or over-ripe (black and yellow and squishy). One of my favorite ways to prepare them is as a simple savory pancake (no syrup, please). It is customarily eaten with boiled bambara groundnuts, which also grow in the northern regions of Ghana.
The first challenge is to procure ripe-to-overripe plantains. In some parts of North America one must buy green (unripe) plantains and let them ripen at home. As a rule, buy twice as many plantains as required, two or three weeks before they are needed.
Ingredients
3 or 4 large over-ripe plantains (about 1½ pounds after peeling; about 3 cups when sliced)
½ cup finely grated onion or shallots
3 teaspoons grated or ground fresh ginger
1 to 2 teaspoons dried ground red pepper (more or less to taste)
Scant ⅛ teaspoon calabash nutmeg or regular nutmeg (optional)
¼ to ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste; optional)
⅓ to ½ cup (2 ounces) rice flour or cornmeal
⅓ to ½ cup (2 ounces) all-purpose flour
About 1 cup palm oil for pan frying
Directions
Make batter:
1. Cut the ends off the plantains and slit horizontally along one side, then peel and slice them. Put the plantain slices into a large mixing bowl and mash them. Traditionally these would then be pounded in a mortar with a wooden pestle, but if you must use a blender or food processor, keep some of the mashed plantain out and add after blending the rest so there are still some pieces remaining.
2. Stir in the onions or shallots, ginger, dried ground red pepper, nutmeg, if using, and salt.
3. Add the rice flour (or cornmeal if you prefer) and all-purpose flour and stir. Add 1 cup of water and stir again. Let the mixture sit for 20 to 30 minutes before cooking the pancakes.
Cook pancakes:
4. Heat a heavy skillet or griddle as for regular pancakes (medium-high heat). Use a pastry brush to brush palm oil generously on the pan, then drop the batter onto the griddle using 1/3 to ½ cup batter for each pancake. Use a spoon to spread the batter into a circle shape.
5. When the pancake is firm enough to turn without breaking, turn it over with a pancake turner, pressing the turner down firmly on the pancake to flatten it. Continue doing this every few minutes while the pancakes cook. Barbara and I like our tatale quite brown and “crusty”, but they may be fried to suit individual preference.
6. Set the pancakes on paper towels to drain off excess oil. Avoid stacking them as you cook—spread them out to drain. Continue cooking pancakes until all batter is used, brushing fresh palm oil on the pan for each batch.
Make ahead: The cooked tatale can be kept warm in a low oven, but will become tough if heated too long. A better alternative is to heat them a few seconds in the microwave before serving them.
The batter may be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated, covered, until cooking time.
To serve: Tatale is classically eaten with Stewed Bambara Beans (Aboboe, page 142) or Bean Stew (Red-Red, page 124). When bambara beans/groundnuts are unavailable, an acceptable substitute is garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Peanuts have supplanted bambara beans/groundnuts in much of West Africa. Fresh boiled peanuts could also be used as could roasted unsalted peanuts.
In Ghana, tatale with aboboe makes a wonderful, elegantly simple party snack, especially pleasant when washed down with cold glasses of beer. It is hearty enough for non-vegetarians to adore. Interestingly, tatale with aboboe is the only Ghanaian dish I know of, apart from porridge, where sugar is served on the side and may be added to the beans to taste. Still, some purists insist that even that is a foreign intrusion.
Spicy Fried Plantain Cubes
Kelewele
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Kelewele is one of my all-time favorite snack foods from Ghana. It is generally described as something like “spicy fried plantain cubes,” but that description is like calling a sunset “beautiful.” Western cookbook versions I’ve seen are anemic versions of the best kelewele as prepared in Ghana, where it is often served accompanied by dry roasted unsalted peanuts. The sweet, spicy, and chewy plantain is a perfect counter to the mild crunchy/creamy flavor and texture of the peanuts. Years ago my husband and I used to go for walks in the evenings in Ghana to the roadside vendors whose lamps and candles flickered in the night and where the women neatly wrapped our hot, freshly cooked kelewele in clean newspaper.
Kelewele and peanuts go well with ice-cold beer or a drink like Ginger Beer (page 203) or Hibiscus Iced Tea (Bissap, page 205). The following recipe is a U.S. adaptation of Flair’s version.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped yellow or red onion
2 to 4 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 slice or more fresh red habanero or Scotch bonnet or other red chili pepper, seeds removed for milder flavor; or dried red pepper flakes or dried ground red pepper to taste (if you are new to chili peppers, begin with a small amount, such as 1 slice or ¼ to ½ teaspoon dried ground red pepper and add more gradually until the desired heat is achieved)
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon anise seeds
⅛ teaspoon finely grated calabash nutmeg or regular nutmeg (optional)
3 or 4 sticks hwentia (optional)
¼ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
4 large slightly over-ripe plantains (somewhat black and soft, but not completely), peeled
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
Directions
Prepare seasoning mixture:
1. Place the onion, ginger, chili pepper, cloves, anise seeds, nutmeg (if using), and 2 or 3 tablespoons of water in a mini food blender or processor along with 3 or 4 broken inch-long pieces of hwentia (hwentia adds a nice spicy, peppery, but not hot, flavor). Coarsely blend (it should not be completely blended and still have small pieces of cloves, aniseed, and hwentia).
Note: Sometimes you can use a small standard canning jar on a regular-size blender if you don’t have a mini blender. It may be necessary to remove the jar and shake it a few times to blend the seasonings. If you use a regular-sized blender container, it may require stopping several times to use a rubber spatula to push the mixture down as it is blended. Alternatively, one can crush and mix all the ingredients by hand in batches in a small marble mortar with a pestle.
2. Pour the seasoning mixture into a small bowl, stir in the salt, and let it sit while preparing the plantains. (If desired, squeeze out the fibrous strings and use mostly the seasoned liquid left behind in the blender, discarding the large coarse fibers and broken spices.)
Prepare plantains:
3. Cut each plantain in half lengthwise, then cut each half in half lengthwise again, and slice each quarter on a diagonal into diamonds, or at 90 degree angles into small cubes. The size of each piece may be quite small (such as ½ inch or a little larger, depending on your preference.)
4. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of the seasoning mixture over the cut plantains and stir well to coat. Taste the mixture and adjust seasonings as necessary. Let the coated plantains sit for several minutes while preparing oil.
Fry plantains:
5. Heat oil in a deep fryer or heavy-bottomed pan to about 350 degrees F. Make sure the oil is shallow enough that it will not bubble over when adding the plantains.
6. Using a long-handled slotted spoon, put some of the seasoned plantain pieces into the hot oil, stirring to make sure they do not stick together. When they are nicely browned on all sides, remove and drain them on paper towels. Continue cooking the remaining plantains in small batches.
To serve: These are best eaten immediately or soon after cooking, preferably with dry roasted unsalted peanuts.
Spicy Plantain Balls
Kaklo / Kakro
Makes 12 to 24 balls
Never throw out squishy, moldy black plantains. They are perfect for many things, such as this recipe, reminiscent of both Savory Plantain Pancakes (Tatale, page 50) and Ghana-Style Donuts (Bofrot/Togbei, pages 84-86). Many Ghanaians choose these balls as a favorite snack or side dish, especially when served with a Fresh Pepper Sauce (page 168) or Shito (page 170). They also pair well with Bean Stew (Red-Red, page 124). While the seasoning ingredients are similar to those for tatale, the texture is quite different. This recipe is from Flair.
Ingredients
3 over-ripe plantains, or enough to yield at least 2 cups mashed
3 tablespoons finely grated onion
½ teaspoon dried ground red pepper
1 rounded teaspoon grated or finely minced fresh hot chili pepper, variety of your choice, such as jalapeno (mild) or cayenne (medium) or substitute additional dried ground red pepper (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
Scant ½ cup unfermented corn dough (page 189); or 1 cup toasted corn flour (page 29) mixed with ⅓ cup water
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon baking powder
Vegetable oil for frying
Directions
Prepare the plantain balls:
1. Peel and mash the plantains to get a good 2 cups (a Ghanaian wooden mashing tool called an apɔtɔyewa or apotoriwa is perfect for this but you can used whatever tool you have in your kitchen).
2. Sprinkle the grated onion, dried ground red pepper, fresh chili pepper, and salt over the plantains, along with 2 or 3 tablespoons of water.
3. Add just enough water, a tablespoon at a time, to the corn dough to make it smooth, and add to the bowl with the plantains. Add the flour and baking powder, and stir well. If the dough seems very soft, add a little more flour; if it seems too dry, add a little more water.
Fry the plantain balls:
4. Heat oil in a heavy pan or deep fryer not more than half-filled to 360 degrees F. Do a temperature test: when the oil is hot enough, a small amount of dough dropped into the oil will quickly rise to the surface.
5. When the oil is hot, slip a long-handled spoon into the oil to coat it, then scoop up a spoonful of batter (balls should be about 2-inches in diameter). Using another spoon (also coated with oil) quickly slide dough into the oil. Cook the kaklo in batches until they are quite browned on all sides. They will likely turn over as they cook, but use a long-handled slotted spoon to stir and turn them if needed.
6. Use the slotted spoon to lift them out into a paper towel-lined colander to absorb the extra oil and cool.
To serve: Kaklo can be eaten warm or at room temperature.
Variations:
Some earlier recipes omit the flour and baking powder. If choosing to do this, decrease the amount of water, or omit it altogether.
Some recipes include fresh ginger and some include a little sugar as an optional addition.
Some historic Ghana cookbooks (e.g., Alice Dede’s Ghanaian Favorite Dishes, 1969; and Ghana Recipe Book, 1970) show how creative Ghanaian cooks have never limited themselves to making these fried balls with plantains. There are recipes using cassava instead of the plantains and serving them with coconut. Other recipes use mashed sweet potatoes in place of the plantains, eggs, butter or fat, water or milk, and coat the balls with breadcrumbs. They are then fried to be served with meat or fish stew.
Grilled Ripe Plantain Slices with Peanuts
Kofi Brokeman
Since living in Ghana I have become addicted to ripe plantains cooked in many different ways. They make a healthful (cooked) snack naturally low in sodium, but high in potassium, vitamins B6, C, and fiber, and are heartier than bananas. When ripe plantains are plentiful in Ghana, roadside vendors sell grilled slices along with small wrapped packages of shelled roasted peanuts with their skins still on. The combination provides a complete inexpensive but satisfying meal that goes by the popular nickname “Kofi Brokeman” (in other words, Kofi is “broke”—has no money).
Ingredients
1 ripe plantain per person
Roasted peanuts (opposite page)
Directions
1. Build a fire in a charcoal grill or fire up a gas grill. Brush oil on the grill rack to keep the plantain from sticking. (Alternatively, use “no stick” aluminum foil and put the peeled and sliced plantain directly on that.)
2. Cut the ends off the plantain, make a shallow cut just through the peel from end to end on one side, peel it and remove any stringy fibers. Cut the plantain on the diagonal into a few slices.
3. Spread out the coals, and place the rack a few inches above the charcoal. Grill the plantain pieces until they are brown and cooked on each side (about 5 to 10 minutes per side). Be careful the slices do not burn. If they darken too quickly, raise the rack or move slices to the outside of the grill away from the direct heat.
To serve: These are best eaten warm off the grill with a few handfuls of dry roasted unsalted peanuts.
In Ghana, if someone is eating Kofi Brokeman on a bus or in a public place near you, they will likely gesture politely to you and say “You are invited” (i.e., you are invited to join me), an ingrained hospitality gesture of Ghanaians.
Roasted Peanuts
Makes 8 (¼ cup) servings
Market women in Ghana roast shelled peanuts with skins on in large pans filled with sand so the nuts heat and cook evenly. In the 1970s, they were served unsalted and tended to be small Spanish-type peanuts. Nowadays larger Virginia peanuts are common as well.
Raw shelled (or unshelled) peanuts may be found in international (especially Asian) markets or health food stores in the U.S. Whether serving peanuts as a snack or using them in cooking, roasting raw peanuts is not complicated.
Ingredients
2 cups raw peanuts, shelled, with or without skins
Salt (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to about 325 degrees F.
2. Line a cookie sheet (or similar pan) with foil (optional), and spread 2 cups of peanuts in a single layer. Place the pan in the preheated oven and roast the peanuts for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove and shake the pan gently and return it to the oven to roast for another 3 to 5 minutes. Remove again and allow the peanuts to cool until you can taste them. (The skins will have turned dark and they will continue to cook after removing them, so make sure they are not overly brown.) Taste and if more cooking time is needed, shake the pan again and roast for a few more minutes.
3. After they are cooked and cooled, remove the skins by rubbing the peanuts between your palms. (I take my pan outside and fan it so the skins blow away.) Salt, if desired, while still warm. Cool and store in a covered container.
To serve: These are often served in Ghana along with Grilled Ripe Plantains (opposite page) to make Kofi Brokeman.
Boiled Peanuts
Makes 6 to 8 servings
In Ghana, as in many parts of the Southern U.S. and Asia, raw peanuts are enjoyed as a snack when boiled. Raw peanuts are called “green” when they are freshly dug up and contain moisture. In Ghana, people buy large quantities of the raw, dried peanuts still in their shells. The dried peanuts are soaked in water overnight, then boiled covered in salted water for several hours until the peanuts are soft. This is a great snack for eating outdoors. In the U.S., raw peanuts are commonly sold already shelled, and are available at health food stores or Asian markets.
Ingredients
2 cups shelled raw peanuts
1 teaspoon salt
Directions
1. Rinse the peanuts and soak in a bowl of water overnight.
2. Bring about 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan. Drain the peanuts and add to the boiling water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt (or more).
3. Lower the heat to medium and cook the peanuts in the salted water until they are soft like beans. This may take anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours depending on how fresh the peanuts are. Add more water as they cook, if needed. Drain the water off, and serve.
To serve: These may be eaten alone, but in Ghana boiled peanuts/groundnuts are sometimes served with boiled corn or cassava.
Peanut Balls
Kuli-Kuli
Makes 16 small balls
Ingredients
¾ cup peanut flour
8 tablespoons hot water
Salt to taste (optional)
Peanut oil for frying
Directions
1. Gradually add the hot water to the peanut flour to achieve the correct consistency for forming the dough into balls, adding more water or flour as needed. Mold the dough into small balls. (It helps to lightly flour one’s hands with a little peanut flour before shaping the dough.)
2. Deep-fry the balls in hot peanut oil for a few minutes until they are crisp and brown on the outside. Drain in a colander or on paper towels.
Note: Do not try to use already prepared peanut butter to make these—the balls will simply disintegrate when you try to deep-fry them.
I observed some amazingly strong, skilled women in Bawku in Northern Ghana make kuli-kuli. After roasting, removing the skins, and grinding a metal drum full of peanuts, they removed the excess peanut oil by kneading the paste. They made this look easy, but it requires tremendous hand strength. After squeezing the mixture tightly into balls, they deep-fried them to remove more oil. Finally, they pounded the balls with a pestle in a wooden mortar to make another paste that was seasoned with salt and rolled into ropes thinner than pencils that were then joined together to form irregular circles, and deep-fried again. These final shapes are called “kuli-kuli,” though there are other versions, such as balls, with the same name. After years of laboriously duplicating the process (I actually put the ground peanuts between two cutting boards on the floor and stomped on them to extract the extra oil), a hugely labor-saving product has entered the U.S. market: “peanut flour” (e.g., Protein Plus).
Spicy Coated Peanuts
Makes 8 to 10 servings
Coating ingredients with a batter before deep-frying them is a common cooking technique in Ghana. In the U.S. we are most likely to coat peanuts with something sweet (as in the recipe for Peanut Toffee, page 212), but this savory snack/appetizer recipe is guaranteed to wake up those party peanuts! To locate raw unsalted peanuts with their skins on try an Asian market or health food store.
These are a perfect snack to eat while sipping ice-cold Star or Club beers, fruit juices, bissap (aka sobolo), ginger beer, or iced tea. In winter in North America they also go well with a hot drink like mulled wine, spiced cider, coffee, or tea. The hot oil somehow steams the peanuts so they’re still chewy, but the crispy, spicy coating gives them a kick. Eat them soon after making them.
Ingredients
4 cups canola or other vegetable oil for deep-frying
1½ cups shelled raw unsalted peanuts with skins on
Batter
Heaping ¾ cup (4 ounces) unsifted all-purpose flour
¾ to 1½ teaspoons dried ground red pepper (or to taste)
¾ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
⅛ teaspoon (a pinch) white pepper
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 egg
1 can evaporated milk
Directions
1. Pour vegetable oil into a deep fryer or a deep heavy saucepan. Do not fill over half full. Heat the oil to about 360 degrees F while making the batter.
Prepare batter:
2. Sift together the five dry ingredients into a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a fork or wire whisk. Shake the can of evaporated milk then open it and add 1/3 cup to the egg along with ¼ cup water and beat to combine. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
