Spicy Plantain Skewers

Its sweet yet spicy; crunchy yet chewy. Take a guilt trip with me and indulge in some plantain goodness. It can serve as a lovely appetizer or as a side to a meal. This is also a great way of using up overripe plantains.

INGREDIENTS:

(1) Overripe Plantains

(2) Vegetable Oil for frying

(3) Salt to taste

(4) Chili Flakes

(5) Ground Ginger/ Ginger Powder

NOTE: For this recipe to work, you need your plantains to be overripe. Plantains that are just ripe would not brown and stick together as much.

Saffron Rice with Greek Salad and Plantain Skewers

PROCEDURE:

(1) Heat some vegetable oil in a pan. You would need just enough oil to cover the plantains and no more.

TIP: Use a small sauce pan and that would give you a deep fry without using a lot of oil.

(2) chop your plantains into small cubes.

(3) When oil is hot, put plantains in and fry. Turn every 5 minutes. Turning helps the plantains mash a bit and stick together.

(4) After 10 minutes, add salt, chili flakes and ground ginger. The quantity you add will depend on how spicy you want it. Fry until golden brown.

(5) Remove plantain from oil and allow to drain on paper towel for a couple of minutes.

(6) Use an ice cream scoop to form plantain into balls of equal size. You want them packed together in a tight ball. You can use your hands to make them compact.

(7) They can be had this way as a side as I have done with some fried rice here.

(8) To make them into skewers, simple pass a skewer through them. The number of balls per skewer will depend on how long your skewer is.

END NOTES: You can take thus up a notch by adding some (grilled) vegetables (like bell peppers and onions) between each plantain ball on the skewer.

About Terry Adido

Terry Adido is passionate about showing people how easy it is to recreate restaurant quality meals in the comfort of their kitchens. With a style of cooking he refers to as Afro-European Fusion, his meals are influenced greatly by French and Italian Cuisine with a West African twist. If you love good food, you are in for the ride of your life.