Sweet, spiced Ghanaian plantain pancakes made with ripe plantain, ginger and orange zest, fried until golden.
Tatale, pan-fried pancakes made from mashed overripe plantain mixed with flour and spices, are a genuine and beloved Ghanaian street food and home snack, traditionally seasoned with ginger, chile and sometimes onion. This version leans into the ginger that's already essential to tatale and adds orange zest for brightness, a common enough variation among Ghanaian cooks who often adjust the spicing to their own taste while keeping the core plantain-and-flour batter intact. The plantains need to be genuinely overripe, with blackened skins and soft, sweet flesh, since underripe plantain won't mash smoothly or provide the natural sweetness tatale depends on. Mashed plantain is combined with just enough flour to bind it, along with grated ginger, orange zest and a pinch of chile for the characteristic Ghanaian balance of sweet and warm heat, then fried in shallow oil until deeply golden and slightly crisp at the edges. Served hot, often alongside roasted peanuts or black-eyed pea stew in Ghana, they make an excellent breakfast or snack on their own.
Serves 4
Mash the very ripe plantains in a bowl with a fork until mostly smooth with a few small lumps remaining.
Stir in flour, grated ginger, orange zest, cayenne, chopped onion and salt until just combined into a thick batter.
Heat about 1cm of oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
Drop spoonfuls of batter into the hot oil, flattening slightly with the back of the spoon. Fry 2-3 minutes per side until deeply golden and cooked through.
Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain, then serve hot.
Use plantains that are genuinely overripe, with mostly black skin — this is essential for both sweetness and the right mashable texture.
Fry in enough oil to shallow-fry, not just a thin film, so the edges get properly crisp.
Flatten each spoonful of batter as it goes into the oil so it cooks through evenly without staying raw in the middle.
Spicier version: add a finely chopped fresh chile along with the cayenne for more heat.
Savory pairing: serve with red red (black-eyed pea stew) for a more traditional Ghanaian meal.
Nut topping: scatter with roasted, crushed peanuts just before serving, a common Ghanaian street food pairing.
Best eaten fresh and hot. Refrigerate leftovers up to 2 days and reheat in a dry skillet or oven to recrisp, since microwaving makes them soggy.
Tatale is a well-documented Ghanaian dish made from overripe plantains, commonly sold by street vendors and made at home as a way to use up plantains that have become too sweet and soft for other preparations. It's traditionally seasoned with ginger and chile, reflecting the warm spicing common throughout West African cooking.
Underripe plantains won't mash properly or provide the right sweetness. Let them ripen at room temperature until the skin is mostly black — this can take several days, but it's essential for authentic tatale.
Traditional tatale is shallow-fried for its characteristic crisp edges, but you can bake spoonfuls on a greased tray at 200C for about 20 minutes, flipping once, for a lighter version.
In Ghana, tatale is often eaten alongside red red (black-eyed pea stew) or ground roasted peanuts, making it a savory-sweet combination rather than a purely sweet breakfast.
Per serving (150g / 5.3 oz) · 4 servings total
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