Ghana Month: ‘Agbeli Kaklo’, the ancient crunchy snack of our time

‘Agbeli Kaklo’, is an Ewe term, which means Cassava Ball, and is one of the Ghanaian-originated crunchy snacks that evolved centuries ago.

The snack originated from the southern part of the Volta Region which is dominated by farmers who grow cassava in larger quantities.

The snack is often taken with coconut meat. It is often sold by women and of high patronage among all tribes in Ghana.

As Ghana celebrates its rich cultural heritage throughout March, The Ghana Report wants to take readers through the processes of making delicious ‘Agbeli Kaklo’, which contains Vitamin C and helps in blood sugar management.

The ingredients for making ‘Agbeli Kaklo’ are cassava or cassava dough, oil, onion, and salt.

First of all, one needs to peel, wash, and grate the cassava and squeeze the starch and moisture out to form a dough.

The cassava dough is then sifted, and placed in a local sieve which the Ewe tribe in Ghana calls ‘Agbadze,’ after which the dough is seasoned with salt and onion and made into smaller balls to enable it to cook well when placed in the oil on the fire under moderate heat.

When the balls are placed in the oil, fry for about 1 minute, and then lower the heat. Fry them for about 7 minutes until they are golden brown and well cooked.

One has to know that in frying ‘Agbeli Kaklo’ if the centre is white and the outer part is brown, it means, it’s not well cooked.

Normally, when the fire is very high, the outer part of the ‘Agbeli Kaklo’ in the oil becomes golden brown but the inside remains whitish, therefore remember to always lower your fire when frying this snack.

The inner part of a well-cooked ‘Agbeli Kaklo’ is a bit brownish and the outer part is always golden brown.

Have you ever tasted ‘Agbeli Kaklo’ before and how did you find it?