Plantain in Nigeria can usually be found all year round as it is a common food for both the villagers that cultivate it and the city dwellers that buy and consume in large quantities. Plantains are regarded as a delicacy in most places and prepared according to the taste and culture of the people living in that area. There are different ways of preparing plantain either as a food or as a snack depending on the popularity of the dish in that location and also on the ripening of the plantain. Some plantain dishes cannot be prepared unless the plantain is sufficiently ripe and soft, while other dishes require the plantain to be unripe and hard. Thinking of making a plantain dish? Here are some suggestions you can try…
Fried plantain:
Popularly referred to as dodo, this is the most common way of preparing plantain. To prepare dodo, you will need a ripe bunch of plantain, salt and some vegetable oil for frying. Simply peel off the outer skin of the plantain and slice the soft flesh into a clean bowl, sprinkle some salt and then mix properly. The last step is to deep fry the salted slices of plantain in hot oil until they are golden brown. Simple, isn’t it? And there you have your dodo.
Roasted plantain:
Now this one requires a little expertise to prepare. Roasted plantain, also known as boli, can be prepared using semi-ripe plantains. What you need to do is to peel off the skin of the plantain and roast it in your oven or on hot coals. However, one has to take extra care so that the plantain does drop into the dirt or get burnt. Roasted plantain is quite filling and is usually eaten with sauce and roast fish or even roasted groundnuts.
Boiled plantain:
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You will need unripe or not-too-ripe plantains that are firm and not yet soft. It is simply washed and cut into two or three, with the skin to avoid losing the nutrients, then peeled after boiling. This dish can be eaten as a whole meal with scrambled eggs or whatever sauce you choose.
Plantain porridge:
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Plantain porridge can be cooked and mashed with either beans or yam so as to have a consistency and deliciousness of a real meal. It can then be garnished with spices and meat for an overall balanced diet. You can also prepare plantain with vegetable porridge.
Plantain chips:
This is commonly sold on the streets daily as a snack. Plantain chips are prepared using unripe plantain that has been sliced into very thin sizes. First, peel the plantain, then slice it very thinly and sprinkle salt on it. These are then shallow fried in hot vegetable oil.
