Making Ablongo The Traditional Ga Streetfood Snack From Scratch.

Plantain is in season and it’s been such a long wait for me because I’ve been craving Ablongo! I honestly have no idea where that nostalgic feeling came from but it was strong and needed to be addressed.

Along with the craving came the memories of when I first taste tried Ablongo. I was sitting at my Dad’s electrical shop in Old Accra minding my business when my Dad called out to someone. I looked up and a woman carrying a large round looking object atop a wooden flat-top stopped infront of the shop and I was asked to ‘toolɛ shi’ (help her to offload the item onto the ground). I looked on curiously as she unwrapped leaves from around the object to reveal a brownish looking mound which had been sliced into just like a cake with the inner part brownish red. My Dad explained that it was roasted mashed plantain. The woman used a knife to slice off a portion which she handed to me. I took a sniff and then a cautious bite. It was divine! Spicy, sweet, gingery with an aroma I hadn’t experienced before! I must have eaten several pieces before she left the shop. I’d always call her anytime I spotted her going down the street towards cow lane.

Today, there are no ablongo street food vendors in Old or New Accra. It’s rather quietly vanished from the streets as though it knew it’s time had come and it served it’s purpose in our culinary culture. Quite sad really. The few people I’d ask why it’s no longer in existence would often point to the cost of cooking gas and the time it took to be ready.

Ablongo is a one-pot oven baked mashed overripe plantain. It’s a cousin to the making of kaaklo, same process but oven-baked to be firm for sliced into portions. It’s usually eaten as a snack and it carries a beautiful aroma of ginger and chilli spices when baking.

Ablongo is a critically endangered food snack in Ghana and we need to reverse this as a matter of urgency. Aklor is another Ga origin meal which as silently been phased out from home-made meals even in Ga communities. A simple meal of excellently seasoned fresh fish and seafood broth eaten with gari or ripe plantain is now a childhood memory.

What does Ablongo taste like?

It’s sweetish due to the use of overripe plantain, chilli spicy with hints of liquorice. It has an outer top and lower crust which is chewy not crumbly.

Is Ablongo Vegan?

It’s pretty much vegan if you don’t add eggs to it. A few people add eggs and flour to bind the plantain mixture but keeping it out will still give you a great taste for the vegan/vegetarian version.

This recipe is healthy and filling as a snack. You can keep any extra slices in the fridge for later snacking.

Here’s the recipe video on my Youtube channel and please do take a second to subscribe. 🩷

Have you made ablongo before? What are your thoughts on the slow disappearance of our traditional meals, post your comments below.