If you are a fan of sweet fried plantains, tatale will certainly get you hooked. I know…it got me! I’ve mentioned it a million times, but I love plantains. No, really, I adore them! They’re my favorite starchy side dish and are even more comforting fried. So recently, I was in a desperate situation with a bunch of plantains that were so ripe they needed to be used right away or go to waste. For someone like me, that’s hard to do without agonizing about the situation. But thanks to tatale, I can present the beautiful side of ugly plantains. These Ghanaian plantain pancakes are so easy to make and an excellent way to use up plantains before they head south. They say the ugliest fruit makes the best dessert. And I say the ugliest plantains make the best tatales. My recipe variation incorporates the traditional ginger, cornmeal, and some not-so-traditional parsley, garlic, and green onions.
Recipe Ingredients
How to Make Tatale
Puree – Peel and mash plantains in a medium bowl with a potato masher or spoon until pureed. (Photos 1-2) Base – Add the cornmeal, salt, garlic, ginger, and cayenne to the mashed plantains. Stir in the green onions and parsley until thoroughly combined. (Photos 3-6) Heat a skillet on medium-high with about three tablespoons of canola oil. (Photos 7-8) Fry – Scoop ⅓-½ cup of batter into the skillet and cook until each side is golden brown, about 10 minutes. You might have to turn the tatales several times. Enjoy!
How to Serve Tatale
They’re best served hot with beans (fried, boiled, stewed) and hot pepper sauce or as a snack. I served them up with some leftover black bean stew, and we ate the whole thing.
What Goes With Tatale (African Plantain Pancakes)
Whatever you’d eat with tostones or chips. Try them with red red black-eyed peas, African beef stew, guacamole, hot pepper sauce, hot corn dip, you name it.
Watch How to Make It
[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=”iMSEY8Ym” upload-date=”2019-10-01T06:56:25.000Z” name=”Tatale (African Plantain Pancakes)” description=”Tatale (African Plantain Pancakes) – a Classic Ghanaian dish that is traditionally made with overly ripe plantains, flour or cornmeal and added spices like ginger, onions, and hot pepper. So easy to make and the perfect way to use of all those overly ripe plantains!”]
