When I was young, I used to wonder why my mother would want to fry bananas. She would present it at the table as "banana fritters." It would boggle my mind, as it seemed unnatural to fry fruits, and I would wish that she just baked cookies like the mothers on television. As the years have passed, of course, I have recognized the power of these potassium packed plantains. Offering 36% DV of Vitamins A and C, 24% Vitamin B6, 13% Folate, 16% Magnesium, and a whole slew of additional vitamins and minerals (nutrition facts and analysis can be found at http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2031/2), plantains make a perfectly delicious, nutritious, and frugal alternative to potato chips.
For only twenty-five cents, one plantain can provide a nice snack for three people. Although, when I am alone, I have no problem gobbling up an entire plate of one plantain.
The preparation takes no longer than 5 or 10 minutes (not including frying time). I slice the plantain into thirds and then each third I slice into fourths, or fifths, depending on the size of the fruit. While I wait for a small pot of canola oil to heat up, I mix the batter. In a bowl, I whip up one egg, around three-fourths cup mix of whole wheat and unbleached flour, and a heap of brown sugar. I then mix in low-fat milk to the desired consistency (a bit under half a cup). Dip in each plantain slice, fry until golden brown, top with a little confectioner's sugar for presentation and voila... a quick, hot snack - - perfect for the winter!
Go bananas go !!! it's about time that this wonder fruit be recognized - look how strong gorillas & monkeys are ! and their favorite food is bananas - last year in my Thrift Store treasure hunt was a very old recipe book all about bananas and I am very fascinated of how many recipes can be derived with just that single ingredient- i will try to give you next time my favorites - anyway here's one easy recipe - just roll the ripe plantain into brown sugar,slice them chunky french style and fry them medium heat with canola oil until brown -the brown sugar will caramelize to glaze -this you can serve or preserved in refrigerator or freezer for future usage -you will find this also in the grocery Chinese food frozen section- *look for bargain section where they sell rotten looking bananas -they look horrible but actually when you peel them they look the best and sweeter than the good looking yellow ones - bananas with brown flecks are the best and sweetest - anyway don't store bananas in refrigerator-cold temperature prevents proper ripening - more bananas to come.
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