Plantains are among the staple ingredients in African cuisine. In fact, in most parts of Africa, Plantains are as unavoidable as potatoes are in the West. Grilled, boiled, pounded or deep fried, Plantains can be prepared in different ways and make good side dishes and snacks.

Today, the recipe I will be sharing with you is my mother’s Plantain fries recipe. I basically grew up with this recipe. And once you taste it, you won’t be able to live without it. It’s a simple dish to make but it’s highly addictive to eat. Back home, we used to serve Plantain fries with fish, chicken or beef. However, most of the times I love to have them as simple snacks.

And like many African side dishes, plantain fries are vegan friendly.

One last point, ideally I will advice anyone who plans to make plantain fries to use plantains turned yellow but which still are firm when you touch them because ripe plantains will make your fries soggy.

Prep: 5-10 min                    Cook: 10 min                       5-6 Servings

INGREDIENTS

6 Plantains

2 tablespoons of grated ginger or ginger powder

Salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Peel the plantains.

2. On a cutting board, cut each plantain in two lengthwise. Cut each half in two lengthwise again. Then cut each stick in half or in three portions depending of the length you want your fries to have.

3. Transfer the plantain fries into a large mixing bowl. Add the grated ginger or ginger powder (I prefer to use grated ginger) and salt. Gently toss in order to coat every piece with ginger.

4. In a deep frying pan or a large wok, heat oil until the oil reaches 375 °F. Fry the plantain, in two or three batches, depending of the size of your frying pan, in order to not overcrowd the pan, until they turn golden brown.

5. With a spider skimmer remove the plantains fries from the oil and let them rest on a paper towel in order to remove the excess oil.

6. Transfer them on a serving platter. Serve hot as side dish or with a spicy tomato dipping or with a hot tomato salsa.

Tips:

For your portions, plan 1-2 plantain(s) per serving depending on your and your guests’ appetite. Personally, I go with 1 plantain (depending on their size and length) per adult.

It’s entirely possible to replace ginger with grated nutmeg.

In order to accentuate the rich golden color of the fried plantain, add 1-2 tablespoons of red palm oil in your frying oil. But it’s totally optional.