Saturday 19 October 2013

DIY Unripe Plantain Swallow (Plantain Amala) - From scratch under 20 mins



Unripe Plantain Swallow is also known as Plantain Amala or Plantain Fufu. I am accustomed to the old method of buying dried unripe plantains from my local market, grinding them to fine powder and cooking/turning it into a solid paste that looks like this picture below. The drying process of unripe plantains makes it look like (colour wise) the picture below.

Source: Wikipedia

Unripe plantain swallow is my favourite Nigeria swallow but to be frank it has one of the most unattractive food colour ever. 

However, with this method, colour is no longer a turn off. I am very new to this method of making unripe plantain swallow. My dad and mum told me to try it out (They weren't sure it will turn out great) and I gave it a go. 

Tools needed:
- Blender
- Turning Stick
- Knife
- Pot
- Packer/Large Serving Spoon
- 1/4 cup of boiled water


Turner. Packer, Knife and Blender

Ingredients:
- 3 unripe medium size plantains
- 3/4 cup of water


Serves: 2 (two) medium-hungry people
Total Time: 20 mins for fast cooks / 35 mins for beginners

How To Prepare

- Peel plantain bark off


My mum doing the work of peeling the bark off and chopping
- Chop peeled plantain into smaller pieces for easier blending


I put the chopped plantain in water while peeling the rest to allow it retain it's moisture and prevent it from getting discoloured

- Add the 2/3 cup of water and blend the plantain until it becomes a smooth puree


- Pour the plantain  puree into a pot and set on medium heat/fire to boil
Puree-like texture
- When the plantain puree begins to boil, take you turning stick and begin to turn carefully
Note: Take necessary breaks if needed when turning. Puree might appear lumpy when turning but don't worry about it. Continuous turning and mashing will eliminate the lumps eventually.


The lumps I mentioned that will eventually smoothen

- Turn until you achieve the smooth swallow/solid-like texture you desire


Turn till I get a solid paste
- Add 1/4 cup of boiled hot water and cover to steam for about 2-3 minutes
- Turn again 
- Food is ready to be served with soup of choice. 


Unripe Plantain Swallow with Fresh Vegetable Soup 


I prefer this method because
- It is a DIY that doesn't require a lot of processing/time to get your unripe plantain to your end result
- It tastes fresh and good
- It has a nice colour
- It doesn't pass through many unknown handlers, hands and markets

I haven't tried it with ripe plantain yet. This is because I think the sugar content will be high and the starch content will be lower, so it might not hold well but I might be wrong Although anyone can try it and tell me how it turned out.

10 comments:

  1. For real? Interesting.

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  2. This is so much better than the black looking one........will sure try it out. Nice one girl *wink

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  3. I like. the creativity, the thought process and the step-by-step. It looks prettier than the regular elubo so WELL done.

    I will give it a try. Men that efo is rocking too

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  4. Thanks so much. Followed every bit of the instruction.It turned out really great

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    Replies
    1. I am glad it turned out good. I hope you also enjoyed eating it

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  5. For now its my best food because i discovered that it work in the system very than any other processing foods

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