Tatale (Ghanaian Plantain Pancakes)

This tatale recipe is the perfect way to use up black, over-ripe plantains. It is spicy, delicious and vegetarian-friendly.

Anyone who knows me knows that I advocate for plantain at every stage of ripeness. It is very easy to see a plantain turn black along with your hopes and dreams for fried plantain. However, I believe the black overripe plantain is the most versatile stage of a plantain. Not only can it still be fried but it can work in baked goods as well as savoury pancakes like these. Tatale is yet another favourite rendition of this dish and one you should keep in your repertoire

What is Tatale

Tatale is a soft plantain pancake made from ripe plantains, onions, pepper, seasoning and a little flour (usually roasted corn flour). Tatale is usually a great way to use up plantains that have pretty much turned black. If you are curious to learn more about plantains, please check out my Ultimate Plantain Guide. The resulting pancakes are soft and usually fried in palm oil. Also, they are seasoned incredibly similar to Kelewele, which also used ripe plantain to make a delicious roadside snack. The tatale is usually served with soft Bambara beans, which are groundnuts similar to chickpeas. For more details on Bambara beans, you can check out this Hummus recipe. This same batter can be deep fried to make kaklo, but will require a little bit more flour to hold its shape.

What you will need to make tatale

• Plantains: These are the star ingredients. You want them to be soft with lots of black spots.
• Seasoning: I am using a mix of indigenous spices (grains of paradise, calabash nutmeg, Ashanti pepper) and all-purpose seasoning
• Red Palm Oil: this is the oil of choice to fry the tatale
• Onions

How to make Tatale

• Make your spice onion mix
• Mash your plantains in an earthenware
• Mix the spice onion mix with the plantains and flour

• Fry in red palm oil
• Cool down and enjoy with Bambara beans

Tips for Success

• If this is your first time making this, I suggest adding an extra 1-2 tbsp of flour to make it easier to flip.
• I will also suggest using a non-stick pan to fry the tatale. This makes it easier to flip. Here is a link to my preferred pan (click here)
• You want to fry the tatale at a medium temperature so that the palm oil is not too smokey and the tatale cooks through. You do not want it to be burnt on the outside and raw inside while also releasing a lot of smoke.
• Wait for the pancakes to cool down as the residual heat will further cook the plantains and solidify it a bit

FAQ + Substitution

• Can I use green plantains? Please use only super-ripe plantains. If you only have green plantains, make sure to store them in a warm dark place with a tomato or avocado to ripen to the desired state.
• How do I know the plantains are suitable? Please refer to the ingredients photo for details.
• Can I use another oil other than palm oil? Yes, you are welcome to use either vegetable oil or coconut oil. Be careful with coconut oil, because, like red palm oil, it burns quickly.
• Can I switch the seasoning? You are more than welcome to use any seasoning of choice!
• Can I make this in a food processor? You can certainly make elements of this dish in the food processor, especially to grind the onions and spices. For the plantains, I think trying to use a potato masher in a bowl might be a better alternative than a food processor as you do not want the batter to be too soft/ almost watery. Otherwise, you might need more flour.
• I can’t handle pepper, can I omit it? Yes, you can!

What Can I serve this dish with?

• Bambara Beans: These are what are traditionally served with the dish. These groundnuts are similar to chickpeas and need to be cooked for 45mins + till soft. To learn all about Bambara beans, check out this blog post. Once cooked, they are sauteed with onions, coconut oil, any all-purpose seasoning of choice and served with the tatale.
• Red Red: Alternative, you can eat the tatale with beans stew. I have a Red Red recipe available on the blog you can try with the tatale.
• Or you can eat them alone with some peanuts!