Plantain Stir Fry

Plantain Stir Fry

Plantain is the name given to the green, firm, starchy cousin of the sweeter dessert like banana fruit. Highly prized across the tropics in the Indian subcontinent, Africa and Latin American countries plantains have several recipes both sweet and savoury dedicated to them. Plantains are firm and lower in sugar content and have year long availability in the regions they grow making them a very attractive food ingredient. Plantains can be eaten steamed, roasted, sliced and fried (or baked) as I did here, or diced and tossed into a quick stir fry to be eaten with a squeeze on lime on top with lentil soup AKA Daal.

This recipe is

• Vegan
• Gluten-free
• contains Healthy Fat
• Quick to make
• full of Fibre

To make this quick and easy stir fry we need,

• Plantain – 2, scrubbed and dried well
• Coconut Oil – 1 tablespoon
• Green Chillies – 2, minced finely
• Black Mustard Seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds – 1 teaspoon
• Coriander Seeds – 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric – 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida – 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves – 6 to 8 fresh or, 10 -12 dried
• Salt, to taste
• Desiccated Coconut – 4 tablespoons
• Water – 1/4 to 1/2 cup, may not need all off it

Directions,

1. Cut the top and bottom bits of the clean plantain, and then dice into small cubes.

2. Combine the dry spices and grind to a coarse powder in a spice grinder. I used my mortar and pestle to grind the spices.

3. Heat coconut oil in a large wok, traditionally a large cast iron pan called a “Karaahee/ Kadhaayee”  is used.

4. Add turmeric and asafoetida into the oil.

5. Mix in the diced plantains into the wok.

6. Sprinkle the spice powder and salt into the diced plantain and mix well.

7. Add 1/4 cup of water and stir well.

8. Cover the wok and cook on medium heat for 15 – 20 minutes. Check if the plantain mixture looks too dry Andy add water by the spoonful if needed.

9. Cool and mix the desiccated or fresh coconut into the plantain stir fry.

Enjoy warm with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice by itself or, with salad and a hot bowl of Daal.

If you enjoyed this Plantain Stir Fry recipe, please look here for another highly reviewed plantain recipe 😊

This quick and nutritious recipe is making its way to the Bloggers Pit Stop!