Plantain

Cooking plantain or plantain is one of the cultivated varieties of the genus Musa whose fruit is intended to be consumed only after cooking or other processing, rather than being eaten raw. The shoot is also used to make food and soups in various cuisines and the leaves and fibers are also used.

When the fruits are intended to be eaten raw they are known as "dessert bananas" or just "bananas", although "banana" is also used as a collective term to include both bananas and plantains. There is no formal botanical distinction between the two. In some countries, there may appear to be a clear distinction between cooking plantains and dessert bananas, but in other countries, where many more cultivars are consumed, the differences are not so clear-cut and the distinction is not made in the common names used there. 

The difference between the two terms "plantain" and "banana", used here, is based purely on how the fruits are consumed. Plantains are typically eaten cooked and are usually large, angular and starchy, in contrast to dessert bananas, which are typically eaten raw and are usually smaller, more rounded and sugary. A subgroup of plantain cultivars may be distinguished as "true" plantains.

In countries located in Central America and the Caribbean, such as Trinidad and Tobago, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica, the plantain is either simply fried, boiled or added to make a plantain soup and porridge. In Kerala, ripe plantain is steamed and is a popular breakfast dish. In Ghana, boiled plantain is eaten with kontomire stew, cabbage stew or fante-fante (fish) stew. The boiled plantain can be mixed with groundnut paste, pepper, onion and palm oil to make eto, which is eaten with avocado and without pork. Ripe plantains can also be fried and eaten with black eyed beans cooked in palm oil; a popular breakfast dish. Kelewele, a Ghanaian snack, is spiced ripe plantain deep fried in palm oil or vegetable oil. Caramelized plantains are eaten with honey- peanut sauce, plantain casserole, Plantain Guacamole, plantain baked with cinnamon and brown sugar....

In the southern United States, particularly in Texas, Louisiana and Florida, plantains are most often grilled. In Nigeria, plantain is eaten boiled, fried or roasted; roasted plantain, called boli is usually eaten with palm oil or groundnut. In Guatemala, ripe plantains are eaten boiled, fried, or in a special combination where they are boiled, mashed and then stuffed with sweetened black beans. Afterwards, they are deep fried in sunflower or corn oil. The dish is called Rellenitos de Plátano and is served as a dessert. In Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Cuba besides being fried it can also be mashed after its been fried and be made a mofongo of fried and made tostones or tajadas, platanutres or it can be boiled of stuffed.

Plantains can be used for cooking at any stage of ripeness, and ripe plantain can be eaten raw. As the plantain ripens, it becomes sweeter and its colour 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.

Plantains in the yellow to black stages can be used in sweet dishes like plantain lasagna. Steam-cooked plantains are considered a nutritious food for infants and the elderly. A ripe plantain is used as food for infants at weaning; it is mashed with a pinch of salt. The sap from both the fruit peel and the entire plant can stain clothing and hands, and can be very difficult to remove.

Plantains are also dried and ground into flour; banana meal forms an important foodstuff. Dried plantain powder is mixed with a little fennel seed powder and boiled either in milk or water to feed small children till the age of one year in southern parts of India.

In Peru, plantains are boiled and blended with water and sugar to make chapo.

After removing the skin, the unripe fruit can be sliced (1 to 2 mm thick) and deep-fried in hot oil to produce chips.

This thin preparation of plantain is known as tostones, patacones or plataninas in some of Central American and South American countries, platanutres in Puerto Rico, mariquitas or Chicharitas in Cuba and Chifles in Ecuador and Peru. In Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, tostones refers to thicker twice-fried patties.

In Colombia they are known as "Platanitos" and are eaten with Suero atollabuey/Suero Costeño as a snack. Tostada refers to a green, unripe plantain which has been cut into sections, fried, flattened, fried again, and salted. These tostadas are often served as a side dish or a snack. They are also known as tostones or Patacones in many Latin American countries.

In Haiti, these slices are referred to as bannan fris.

In Guyana and Ghana they are called "plantain chips". In Ecuador and Peru, they are called chifles.

In Cuba, plantain chips are called mariquitas. They are sliced thinly, and fried in vegetable oil until golden colored. They are very popular appetizers served with a main dish.

Chips fried in coconut oil and sprinkled with salt, called upperi or kaya varuthathu, are a popular snack in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala.

They are an important item in Sadya, a vegetarian feast prepared during festive occasions. The chips are typically labeled "plantain chips" when they are made of green plantains that taste starchy, like potato chips.

In the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, where banana plants are commonly grown, plantain chips are an industry. In Kerala, different types of plantain are made into chips. They are usually cut thick, fried in coconut oil and seasoned with salt or spices. Sharkaravaratti is a variety of chips which is coated with jaggery, powdered ginger and cumin. In Tamil Nadu, a thin variety made from green plantains is common. Here, coconut oil is not used for frying, and the chips are seasoned with salt, chili powder and asafoetida and Poriyal, fry and curry, Podimas, pulikulambu, Kara Kuzhambu, kola urundai are made with Plantain

In Honduras, they are called tajadas. If the chips are made from sweeter fruit, they are called banana chips. They can also be sliced vertically to create a variation known as plantain strips. Plantain Chips are eaten with Mango Avocado Salsa.

Plantain chips are also a popular treat in Togo, Jamaica, Ghana, Nigeria (where it is called ipekere by the Yorubas), and other countries such as Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Cuba, Honduras, Ecuador, Guyana, India, the United States and Peru. They are also popular in other Caribbean communities.

In the western/central Indian language Marathi, the plantain is called rajeli kela, and it is often used to make fried chips and halwa.

Curries made out of plantain are popular throughout the world. In Kerala, a sour, spicy and sweet curry known as pazham pachadi is made out of ripe bananas, coconut and curd.

Plantain soups are consumed in various cuisines.

Read More at Wikipedia.

Recipes using plantain see Here and Here.