4 Easy Ways To Cook Five-star Plantain

Plantain, also known as cooking bananas are rich in flavour and soft in texture when cooked. They are a staple food which is popular in West and Central Africa, the Caribbean islands, Central America and northern, coastal parts of South America.

They can be cooked unripe or ripe (which tastes sweeter as starch is converted into sugars). As they can be grown all year round - in Africa, plantains and bananas provide more than 25% of the carbohydrate requirements of over 70 million people.

An average plantain gives around 220 calories and are an amazing source of potassium and dietary fibre.

There are 4 ways to cook plantains:

In all cases you have to do the following before cooking:
1) Rinse the plantain and use a knife to cut both ends of the plantain
2) Slit a shallow line from the top of the plantain to the bottom
3) Cut the plantain into the desired shape (I prefer to cut it diagonally - some like to cut into small circles)

Boiling

Ingredients:
3 cups of water
1 green plantain
1 teaspoon of salt

1) Pour the water and salt into a pot and bring it to a boil
2) Boil the plantain for about 20 minutes until it is yellow and soft
3) Drain the boiling water and serve

Boiled plantain is often eaten with a type of sauce such as palm oil pepper sauce, spinach and vegetable sauce or sometimes simply garlic and onion.

Frying

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil for deep-frying
1 yellow plantain (ripe)
Salt to taste

1) Heat the oil over medium heat then put plantain in pan
2) Cook for 2 - 3 minutes then flip the plantain to the other side and cook for 2 - 3 minutes
3) Continue cooking for 5 -7 minutes until plantain becomes soft and deep golden brown
4) Remove the plantain and transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate
5) Season and serve with salt

Fried plantain is often eaten as a side such as with a rice and chicken dish, a snack with a dip or with a black-eyed beans stew.

Grilled

Ingredients:
4 yellow plantains (ripe)
2 tablespoon honey
4 tablespoons canola oil
Juice and zest of half a lime

1) Brush grill with vegetable oil
2) Place plantain on the grill for 15 minutes on medium heat
3) While the plantain is being grilled, combine the honey, oil and zest of the lime juice
4) Uncover grill, flip plantains over and brush the honey-lime mixture over the plantain
5) Cover the grill and cook for an additional 15 minutes
6) Place on a platter and serve with remaining glaze

...Grilled plantain is something different that you can add to your barbecue.

Baked

Ingredients:
2 medium ripe plantains
Cooking spray

1) Preheat the oven at 425 degrees F. Lightly spray the cooking spray on a lined baking sheet
2) Place plantain on a baking sheet and spray the plantain with the cooking spray - bake on each side for 10 minutes

Baked plantain is a similar and healthier option to fried plantain and is often eaten as a side such as with a rice and chicken dish, a snack with a dip or with a black-eyed beans stew.

Hope that you found this useful!