Bananas about bananas? Well, I’m bananas about plantains. And so today, I’m going to share a recipe for plantain stir-fry.
Plantains are a starchier, less sweet version of a banana. When you cook with plantains, you’ll want to seek out raw green plantains for savory recipes. Green plantains almost taste more like potatoes than they do ripe bananas.
Raw plantains can be tricky to peel – I suggest first using a knife to slit the peel – then you should be able to take the peel right off.
This recipe is really easy to make. Before you stir-fry the plantain though, you’ll need to cook it in hot water with turmeric until soft, which takes about five minutes.
Heat coconut oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and once they start to splutter, add ginger, garlic, serrano peppers, and curry leaves.
Throw in the plantain and fry away!
This stir-fry recipe is a Keralite way of cooking plantain. The dish is actually called vazhakka thoran. Vazhakka = plantain, and thoran = stir fry.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 raw green plantains peel and cube
- 1 cup water
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 2 serrano peppers slit but keep in tact
- 1 inch fresh ginger minced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 10-12 curry leaves
- handful of unsweetened grated coconut I use the brand Daily Delight fresh frozen grated coconut found
Instructions
- Put the cubed plantains in a pot with 1 cup of water, turmeric and salt. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Drain water from the pot.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. When they start to splutter, add the serrano pepper, ginger, garlic and curry leaves.
- Add the cooked plantain pieces and grated coconut to the pan and mix together.
Krithika says
Did you use unripe green plantain or are you using vazhakka ? They are two different things. Can you please clarify ?
Typically vazhakka is only available in Indian or. Asian grocery store – these only have three “edges” typically.
Green plantains are typically available at all grocery stores. When ripe they become yellow plantains. These are typically considered as fruits.
My Heart Beets says
Hi Krithika, I use green plantains 🙂
Abbey says
Yellow plantains are raw too, no?
If I can’t find curry leaves, could curry powder or paste possibly be substituted? Looks tasty.
My Heart Beets says
Abbey, usually raw plantains are green and ripe ones are yellow. Mine look yellow in the pic because of the turmeric… As for curry leaves, they have a really unique flavor. Curry powder is actually something totally different (I need to do a post on this because it’s a question I get asked a lot). If you have a local Indian store nearby, you can get the leaves for a couple bucks otherwise Amazon sells them. You can buy them and store them in the freezer. Hope that helps!
Deanna says
Do you leave the serrano peppers in whole, remove them or cut them up at the end? Thank you!
My Heart Beets says
Deanna, my husband usually eats them! But if I’m making it for myself then I remove the serrano peppers at the end. Hope that helps!
Sai says
Do we use ripe plantains or green ones?
My Heart Beets says
Sai, use green plantains 🙂
Andi says
I love plantains and I love pretty much anything with curry leaf. This is going on the menu!
My Heart Beets says
I use curry leaf in a lot of my recipes so definitely check back in 🙂
I read on your blog that you’re growing yuca – I’m a big fan. I look forward to seeing pictures of your harvest!