Plantains

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Green (underripe) plantains are extremely similar to potatoes, so I'll
stick in a brief word about them here. Plantains, as I see it, are
somewhere in-between potatoes and bananas in taste and texture. When
they're green, they are much more like potatoes, but as they ripen they
resemble bananas more and more in taste and texture. My plantains ripened
on me once, and I tried to cook them anyway; it was disgusting. I'm sure
there are recipes for ripe plantains, but I don't know of any, so my advice
is to buy them green and cook them soon. Peeling a green plantain can be
tough, as the skin doesnUt separate easily. Nonetheless, it must be done,
and itUs worth it. Then cut the plantains into small chunks and cover them
with water (they turn black if you don't.)  Heat some oil in a pan. Add
some black mustard seeds and cumin seeds, and when the seeds start popping
add in the plantain chunks. Sprinkle them with some turmeric, salt, black
pepper, and perhaps some cayenne. Fry them until crisp. Another way to cook
plantains (_green_ plantains) is to deep-fry them like potato chips. Cut
them into 1/4 inch slices, sprinkle them with cayenne and ginger (or
nothing), and deep fry them until the outside is crisp but the inside is
soft.  Test-fry a few until you get the method right. I've also heard of
something called a potocan (sp?) or a toston (sp?), which is a plantain
deep-fried whole, then mashed and deep-fried again, and then covered with
meats, nuts, vegetables, whatever. However, I have yet to come across a
vegetarian recipe (or any recipe, for that matter) for something to go on
the toston.
From: narad@nudibranch.asd.sgi.com (Chuck Narad).  rfvc Digest V94, Aug.
30, 1994. Formatted by Sue Smith, S.Smith34, TXFT40A@Prodigy.com using
MMCONV
File ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/vegcook1.zip

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