INGREDIENTS:
- 3 ripe plantain (over ripened)
- ½ medium size onion
- Tiny piece of scotch bonnet pepper (to your taste)
- Tiny piece of red pepper (either banana or birds eye chili)
- Fresh ginger (thumb size or to your taste)
- 3 tbsp of plain flour
- 1 Maggie shrimp
- 4 cloves
- Salt to taste
- Oil (preferably palm oil) for deep frying
- Peel and cut up the onion and ginger. Place in a food processor or blender, traditionally it is grinded in an earthenware mortar shown in the picture, add the scotch bonnet pepper, maggie and cloves. Grind/blend the mixture until smooth. When using the blender, do not blend to into a fine paste. What you want is a coarse texture. For this post, I used the blender to blend it coarsely, I then used the pestle and mortar to mash it into a smooth paste. If you own a mortar and pestle it is better to use it as the flavour and texture you get from it is lovely.
- Now add the salt to taste.
- Peel the plantains and cut up into pieces. Add to the onion mixture and grind/blend together. Ideally, you want a lumpy thick mixture. Over blending gives a very smooth runny mixture. The earthenware mortar is great to give a good texture. If the plantain is not over ripened, it is difficult to mash it.
- Add the flour and mix well.
- Heat up the oil in a shallow frying pan. When the oil is very hot, spoon the Kaakro mixture into the oil, about 1 heaped tbsp for one.
- Let it fry until
golden brown on one side and turn it over. When the kaakro is cooked it
will rise up to the surface and it is easier to turn. You may want to
reduce your heat so that it cooks right through without burning.
- Remove cooked kaakro and place on a kitchen towel to drain most of the oil.
- Serve the kaakro with blackeye beans stew or bambara beans sauce.