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Welcome to Celtnet's Plantain-based Recipes Page — The plantain (Musa spp) is an South Asian parthenocarpic (seedless) fruit that's used as a starchy staple, particularly to accompany African 'soups' (ie stews), Carribbean stews and Asian dishes. It is also available in just about every African/Caribbean market in the West. The description and images below give a brief description of the plant and its fruit.
Here you will find information about plantain plants and the uses of the starchy fruit as food, as well as seeing the web's largest collection of plantain-based recipes. |
The plantain, Musa spp are herbaceous plants of the Musaceae (banana) family of flowering plants native to South-East and South Asia. Plantains belong to the same family as bananas, but are typically larger and more starcuy (with lower sugar content) they are typically cooked as a starchy staple before consumption. Cassava plants can grow as high as trees, but the plants are not woody and their apparent "stem" is just the bases of the huge leaf stalks. Thus they are technically gigantic herbs. Though there is no botanical difference between bananas and plantains, they are generally distinguished in that plantains tend to be larger and bananas are eaten raw, whilst plantains are cooked to make their starchy flesh more palatable. However, green bananas can be substituted in any recipe calling for plantains. Today plantain is a major source of starch in many sub-tropical regions, particularly the Caribbean, East, Central and West Africa and Sothern Asia.
Almost all modern bananas and plantains are hybrids and popyploids of the two species of wild, seeded, bananas: Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. Containing multiple copies of the parent genome, most of these cultivars are seedless (and therefore sterile) and are propagated vegetatively. They are classified according to the number and blend of the parent types, with 'A' referring to the genotype of Musa acuminata and 'B' representing the genotype of Musa balbisiana. In general, ployploids of Musa acuminata (A) are usually dessert bananas while polyploids of Musa balbisiana (B) and hybrids of the two are usually plantains. All members of the genus Musa are indigenous to the tropical regions of Southeast Asia and Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago (modern Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines) and Northern Australia.
Plantains are a staple food in many tropical regions of the world and the unripe fruit has a neutral, starchy, flavour. As a result they tend to be prepared in a very similar way to potatoes: boiling, steaming, baking, frying. Plantains can be used for cooking at any stage of ripeness, and very ripe plantain can be eaten raw. As the plantain ripens, it becomes sweeter and its color changes from green to yellow to black, just like bananas. Green plantains are firm and starchy, and resemble potatoes in flavor. Yellow plantains are softer and starchy, but sweet. Extremely ripe plantains have softer, deep yellow pulp that is much sweeter than the earlier stages of ripeness. Indeed, plantains that have ripened to black are sometimes used to make dessert dishes. Plantains can also be dried and then ground to make a starchy flour.
Below you will see plantain-based recipes from countries across the globe. Many of these recipes are African, but there are also Caribbean recipes and a growing number of Asian recipes. You will find all manner of different ways of cooking this carbohydrate staple, as well as serving suggestions. I hope that you enjoy these recipes.
Alphabetical list of plantain-based recipes follow (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 92 recipes in total:
| African Moussaka Origin: African Fusion | Cassava Soup Origin: Liberia | Kelewele (Hot Plantain Chips) Origin: Ghana |
| Agidi (Fermented Cornflour Pudding) Origin: Nigeria | Chicken and Ribwort Plantain Stew Origin: Cameroon | Kerala Plantain Errisery Origin: India |
| Agidi Jollof Origin: Nigeria | Chips Bananes Plantains (Plantain Crisps) Origin: Senegal | Kondré de Porc (Kondré of Pork) Origin: Cameroon |
| Akpessi de Bananes (Plantain Akpessi) Origin: Cote dIvoire | Coconut Curry Origin: Seychelles | Lemon Ribwort Plantain Seed Pudding Origin: British |
| Aloco Origin: Cote dIvoire | Creamed Plantain and Ham Origin: Fusion | Liberian Rice Bread Origin: Liberia |
| Aloco avec Tilapia (Tilapia with Plantain Chips and Tomato Sauce) Origin: Cote dIvoire | Curried Gazelle Origin: Zambia | Mandj'a Moto Origin: Cameroon |
| Aloko Origin: Cote dIvoire | Curry de Poulet aux Bananes Plantain (Chicken and Plantain Curry) Origin: Cote dIvoire | Matoke Origin: East Africa |
| Amashaza mu gitoke (Peas with Plantains) Origin: Uganda | Darnes de Thon au Lait de Coco (Tuna Steaks with Coconut Milk) Origin: Togo | Matooke Origin: Uganda |
| Asaro II (Yam Porridge) Origin: Nigeria | Daube de Banane Origin: Seychelles | Moos Bukaani (Fried Plantains) Origin: Somalia |
| Baked Plantain On The Shell Origin: Kenya | Dodo (Fried Plantain Accompaniment) Origin: Nigeria | Mtori Origin: East Africa |
| Banana Porridge Origin: Jamaica | Dodo Oni-yeri (Egg-coated Fried Plantain) Origin: Nigeria | Mtori (Cream of Plantain Soup) Origin: Tanzania |
| Bananes Pesses (Refried Plantains) Origin: Haiti | Dodo Salad Origin: Nigeria | Ndizi na Nyama (Plantains with Meat) Origin: East Africa |
| Batabate Origin: Mayotte | Duckling Dar es Salaam Origin: Tanzania | Noix de Coco Banane Plantain Chaud (Hot Coconut Plantains) Origin: Senegal |
| Beans and Bananas Origin: Burundi | Empanadas de Verde (Plantain Fritters Stuffed with Cheese) Origin: Ecuador | Okra and Spinach Stew Origin: African Fusion |
| Beef, Fish and Ribwort Plantain Stew Origin: African Fusion | Ewa Dodo (Black-eyed peas with Plantains) Origin: Niger | Oluwombo Origin: Uganda |
| Belizean Fried Plantains Origin: Belize | Foutou Origin: Cote dIvoire | Oluwombo II Origin: Uganda |
| Belizean Potato Salad Origin: Belize | Fried Ribwort Plantain Sauce Origin: African Fusion | Onunu Origin: Nigeria |
| Belizean Scrambled Eggs Origin: Belize | Fritters Origin: West Africa | Pain de Banane Plantain (Plantain Loaf) Origin: Cote dIvoire |
| Black-eyed Beans and Plantains in Palm Oil Origin: Nigeria | Goosegrass Soup Origin: British | Pintade à l'Afrique (African Guinea Fowl) Origin: Guinea |
| Bodi Origin: Nigeria | Green Banana or Plantain Chips Origin: Kenya | Plantain and Chicken Origin: British |
| Boiled Plantains Origin: West Africa | Grilled Plantains Origin: Togo | Plantain and Greens Porridge Origin: Nigeria |
| Boli Origin: Nigeria | Guinea Hen with Chanterelles and Polenta Origin: Guinea | Plantain Brownies Origin: African Fusion |
| Boli ati Epa (Baked Plantains with Peanuts) Origin: Nigeria | Guisado del Inca (Inca Stew) Origin: Peru | Plantain Cream of Wheat Bread Origin: Liberia |
| Bouchées de Plantains aux Crevettes (Plantain and Prawn Rolls) Origin: Cameroon | Herb Infusion Tea Origin: British | Plantain Gingerbread Origin: Liberia |
| Cachupa Rica Origin: Cape Verde | Hervido de pescado (Boiled Fish with Vegetables) Origin: Costa Rica | Plantain in Spicy Yoghurt Sauce Origin: British |
| Caldo de Peixe II (Cape Verdean Fish Stew II) Origin: Cape Verde | Igbekere (Plantain Chips) Origin: Nigeria | Plantain Porridge Origin: Panama |
| Candied Plantains Origin: Jamaica | Jamaican Plantain Tarts Origin: Jamaica | Plantain Salad Imoyo Origin: Nigeria |
| Carne Gisada con Plantanos (Beef and Plantains) Origin: Cuba | Jamaican Spiced Plantains Origin: Jamaica | Plantain, Pineapple and Peanut Sundaes Origin: African Fusion |
| Carne Gizado (Stewed Meat and Vegetables) Origin: Cape Verde | Jerked Chicken and Plantain Kebabs Origin: Jamaica | Plantains in Coconut Milk Origin: South Africa |
| Cassava and Plantain Bread Origin: African Fusion | Jerked Goat and Plantain Kebabs Origin: Jamaica | Plantains with Tomato and Greens Origin: Tanzania |
| Cassava and Plantain Mash Origin: African Fusion | Kekefia Origin: Nigeria | Potato and Plantain Hash Origin: Liberia |
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