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Dessert

Kuli-kuli

A Ghanaian snack made from roasted peanuts, water, and optional seasonings, formed into dough and deep-fried.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Kuli-kuli

Serves 8
Total1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the peanuts

  1. Toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally to avoid burning.

  2. Remove the skins by rubbing them between your hands or using a cloth to gently press and peel off the skins.

  3. Using a food processor or blender, grind the roasted peanuts to form a peanut butter.

  4. Transfer the peanut mixture to a large mixing bowl.

Extract the oil

  1. Add water, ¼ cup (60 ml) at a time, kneading with your hands after each addition.

  2. Stop adding water once the mixture starts releasing oils.

  3. Continue kneading for a further 5 minutes to release as much oil as possible.

  4. Put the mixture into a cheesecloth and squeeze to release the oils.

  5. Transfer the peanut mixture back to the bowl and set aside the oils for deep-frying.

Shape and fry

  1. Stir in the remaining ingredients, mixing well to combine.

  2. Mix in enough water, a tablespoon at a time, until you get a moldable dough, and knead well.

  3. Take teaspoonfuls of the dough and roll them into small balls or form them into flat discs, depending on your preference.

  4. Shape the dough into small cylinders or oval shapes, like traditional kuli-kuli.

  5. Heat the reserved oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

  6. Fry the kuli-kuli pieces in batches, ensuring they don’t overcrowd the pan, until they are golden brown and crispy on all sides.

  7. Remove the kuli-kuli from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain excess oil.

  8. Allow them to cool completely before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

268Calories
9 gProtein
14 gFat
30 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Waternot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Peanut + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together877 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  4. Garlic + gingertop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Peanut + gingertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together524 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Peanuts
Provide the main body and the oil that binds and fries the dough.
Water
Helps the ground peanuts knead together and release their oil, then forms the moldable dough.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps the fried pieces brown.
Salt
Seasons the dough and balances the sweetness.

The step that matters

Stop adding water once the mixture starts releasing oils. Too much water dilutes the peanut paste and makes the dough hard to shape, while too little keeps oil locked in. Adding water gradually and watching for oil keeps the dough workable and frying oil usable.

Swap the onion

The recipe marks onion as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peanut, sugar, garlic, clove, ginger):

  1. Welsh onionfits better
  2. Sweet potatofits better
  3. Broccolifits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against peanut, sugar, garlic, clove, ginger. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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