Musa x paradisiaca

Known mainly as plantain and botanically as musa x paradisiaca, others would also call it cooking banana but it has quite distinctive features from banana in size and length. Being quite popular, this tropical fruit is widely known and eaten in countries such as the Caribbean, South Asia, Africa and South America.
On getting into the body, it provides it with nutrients such as carbohydrate , potassium and vitamin C which act as antioxidants, working against aging damages in the body system.
One interesting fact about Plantains is that they could be consumed in their different stages of life, i.e when unripe (green coloured), ripe (yellow and sweetened) and overly ripe to the point where it is already blackened.

Get ready and flow with me in this post on different and simple ways to garnish plantains before eating.

1. Boiled plantain: this is one of the simplest ways of preparing plantain and it is done by just boiling it in hot water. You could boil either ripe or unripe plantain for breakfast or lunch. Eat boiled plantain with fried eggs, garden eggs, sauce or any other thing you would enjoy it with.
   

2. Fried plantains: of course you could fry plantains in hot oil when thickly sliced and mixed with a pinch of tiny salt. You can fry the ripe and unripe plantain depending on your preference for your snack or side dish and enjoy it in the morning, afternoon or evening.
   Also, it is possible to have the overly ripened and blackened plantain fried, but this requires a bit of expertise and carefulness. It is mostly prepared and eaten in a western part of Africa by deep frying the already mushy fruit in hot palm oil with peppers and salt.
   

3. Plantain chips: just like fried plantains, this is prepared in hot oil except this time it is thinly sliced and made with unripe plantains. For more flavor, some people would mix it with a bit of honey, salt and ground pepper. This is prepared mainly as a snack for the day!
   

4. Plantain pottage: This dish is made with the green plantain; slightly ripened plantain is also acceptable. It is made by cooking the thickly sliced plantains with palm oil, peppers, seasonings, salt and vegetables before it is gently marshed. Enjoy one or two plates of plantain pottage in the morning or evening with your juice of preference.
   

5. Roasted plantain: Also known as baked plantain. You could easily roast or grill your plantains in the oven, when set at the right temperature. Both ripe and unripe plantain could be roasted depending on your taste's preference. Enjoy roasted plantain anytime of the day ( morning, afternoon, night) as a snack with groundnuts and whatever sauce.