Doctor Squid knows EXACTLY what to do with plantains. Plantains were one of my favorite foods growing up. I had a serious starch addiction which my squid mother fed with mounds of rice accompanied by very spicy potatoes, taro and plantain curries. She also dipped long pieces of plantain in batter and deep fried them. They were my best friends growing up.
My plantains all sliced up
Slice ‘em. But which ones, you might ask? And at what stage? Well, depends on what you’re trying to do. Let’s work the the sweeter ones for now. Go to a Mexican/Salvadorean market and you’ll see plantains organized by all stages of the ripening process from green to yellow to black. The blacker the sweeter. I like them somewhere between yellow and black. A bit sweet and soft but not too mushy.
Ok, back to slicing them. Well, I like them sliced about 1/4 inch thick into rounds. The flavor I’m going for is sweet, tangy and chili hot. This recipe will kick your ass.
1 plantain, sliced
1 cubic inch of dried tamarind pulp soaked in a 1/4 cup of HOT water
1 tsp black mustard
1 tsp urad dhal
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
4-5 curry leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida
chili powder to taste
1 tsp coconut oil (yay!)
Heat the pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the coocnut oil. Add the mustard seeds, urad dhal, cumin, asafoetida, curry leaves. When the mustard starts to pop, throw in your sliced plantain. Saute a bit, then squeeze the pulp of tamarind out and pour the water (usng a strainer if you are afraid of tamarind bits) into the mix. Toss it all around, add the salt and chili powder and keep stirring occasionally until the pieces are golden and toasty beautful.
My mom makes this with the green plantains sliced really thin, which has a totally starchy, non-sweet taste. I prefer the sweet version because I myself am very sweet.
