How To Make Ghana Red-Red (Plantain and Beans!)

Ghana Red-red (Plantain and Beans!) as we call it in Ghana is a highly popular delicious street food. Memories of Red-Red takes me back to when I was in High School.
My friends and I will purchase a good amount of Red-Red with a little bit of gari. We bought our delicacy from a popular spot just off campus for breakfast.
And once we ate we were set for the day, it helped a great deal since we were broke High School students.
Plantain and beans is a balanced diet that vegetarians are big fans of. Some people might add pieces of fish to their beans stew but most don’t.
Some will also eat the beans with gari, rice, or some other form of Carbohydrate. Plantains are also a great side that a lot of people eat with main courses like Jollof, or fried rice.
HOW TO MAKE GHANA RED RED (Plantain and beans!)
Red-Red is a Ghanaian favorite street food made of Beans and Ripe plantains.
Ingredients
- 5 MEDIUM FRESH TOMATOES
- 1 TBSP CAYENNE PEPPER
- 1 BULB ONION
- 1/8 Pound GINGER
- 1 HABANERO PEPPERS You can reduce or skip it altogether if you can't handle the heat.
- 1 TSP PAPRIKA
- SALT TO TASTE
- OIL
Fried Plantain
- 4 Large Ripe Plantains
- 2 Cups Vegetable Oil
Instructions
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Add your pound of Beans (Black-Eyed Peas) in a pot with water and boil at meduim heat for about 40 minutes. Occasionally check the water level.
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While your beans is boiling chop up your onions and set aside
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Chop up your tomatoes, ginger, Habanero peppers and pour into a blender. Blend until its nice and smooth.
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In a seperate cooking pot warm up your oil for 5 minutes and fry your onions for another 5 minutes.
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Add the blended ingredients, paprika, salt and cayenne. Lower the heat on your stove and let simmer for 30 minutes.
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When the beans is cooked, drain the water and add it to the sauce mix, stir and let simmer for another 10-15 minutes
Fried Plantains
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Cut up the ripe plantains into about 8-10 slices each and add salt to taste in a bowl
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Fry the plantains on meduim heat for about 15 minutes or until its golden brown
Hi! I just found this site! I am very Thankful for it. I am a Philly lady and My husband is from Ghana! We are newlyweds! I will enjoy cooking this lovely dishes for him – even though I may not eat them so much lol (I don’t prefer spicy, or super tomato sauce foods) – but I will definitely enjoy making them for him! Thanks so much and I look forward to checking out your recipes regularly! By the way, have you considered an Instagram page? I would definitely follow it and I know others would too! Thanks again!
Hi Anna, thanks for stopping by!I’m glad you’re here. You know can control the spices and tomato sauce, you just use less and it will be just as delicious.
What a perfect side dish! I’ve never tried food from Ghana before, but look how yummy this is! We will be making this recipe soon!
Sure, let me know how it goes. Plantains and beans are the best!
Mmmm I love plantains and beans, the ultimate comfort food that is also healthy. And this is so easy too!
Yes Stine, it definitely is quite easy to make. Plantains are my all-time favorites!
Sounds like a fun, delicious dish! I want to make this, I’ll look for ingredients. Thanks for the idea!
Its a very fun dish Petro, let me know how it goes.
I love reading recipes from around the world to see what I am missing out on. Plantains are a food I have never eaten and this recipe is so interesting with all the flavors and spices. I hope to try this someday.
Thanks a lot Jere, let me know how it goes when you try it.
This recipe is really easy and tasty! I skipped the habanero and it was still delicious!
Oh wow Sophia, you made it?!!!
I’ve never had food from Ghana or cooked with plantains but they are available here in Italy. Love to try this recipe it sounds so good. What quantity of beans do you use? It doesn’t say in the ingredient list.
Thanks a lot Jacqui! I use a pound of beans, I’ll fix the quantity in the recipe.
This ghana ed red looks delicious, so nutritious and satisfying! I have never mixed beans with plantain but find the combo very interesting. Bookmarked it! Thanks for sharing!
Yes, Natalia Red-Red is one of my all-time favorites. Thanks for stopping by!
So delicious! Thank you for sharing your recipe.