Recipe Plantain fritters

[Morning Glory]

INGREDIENTS

• 2 plantains, peeled, grated
• 75g/3oz self-raising flour
• 1 egg
• 75ml/3fl oz of beer (or use sparkling water)
• salt and ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
• vegetable oil, for deep frying

METHOD

• Put flour and egg into a bowl and whisk in enough beer or water to form a batter the consistency of double cream (heavy cream). Season with salt and black pepper and stir in the coriander (cilantro).
• Put the grated plantain into a bowl. Add enough batter until the plantain is lightly coated and mix well.
• Heat oil. Drop spoonfuls of plantain mixture into hot oil and cook until golden. Drain.

 

[Duck59]

When I worked in Ghana, I seemed to live almost exclusively on plantains. I was living in a hotel, so I had to eat out all the time and vegetarian food was somewhat limited, certainly in restaurants serving local food (there was an excellent Indian restaurant in Accra with an extensive list of veggie dishes, but it was quite a way from my hotel).

I had plantain overload, but that was a few years ago now, so I can probably face them again. I remember seeing plantain crisps in a shop in London a couple of years ago, so I gave them a try for old times' sake.

Here's a character that loves plantains:

It's a Western Grey Plantain Eater (not my own photo, but I did see a few).