Plantain Chips

Raw plantains – 4
Oil
Salt

Peel plantains and immerse them in water.

Take ¼ cup of water in a bowl and mix with about 1 tsp salt. If you want the chips very yellow, add some turmeric powder to this water. Set aside.

Heat up oil in a wok.

Take one plantain from the water and dry it with a paper towel. Start slicing them on to a cutting board. Some people slice it directly to the hot oil so the slices won’t stick each other. It is important that you use a mandolin for slicing the plantains unless you are an expert in making thin even slices using a knife.

After slicing the first plantain, add the slices to the hot oil. You may need to separate them using your hands while you add to the oil. Do not overcrowd the pan.

Stir gently using a metallic slotted spoon.

Let it cook for a couple of minutes. Stir again, and wait until it look and sound crispy. Sprinkle some salted water. This will make a big sound and the oil will bubble vigorously so stay away from the pan or use a splatter screen.

The bubbles will settle down in a minute or two, and you will see and hear the crispiness again. Now you can remove the chips from the oil using a slotted spoon. Drain them on a paper towel. Repeat for other plantains. When they are completely cold, you can store in an airtight container.

I would like to pack these plantain chips in snack size ziplock bags and take to the picnic at the park! So you all can grab a bag each and munch...munch...munch....... Would you??

Also check out Indira's recipe for plantain chips.

Sarkara Upperi (Plantain chips with jaggery coating)

Plantains – 2
Jaggery – about ¾ cup (You may substitute with brown sugar)
Ginger powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Powdered sugar – 2 tbsp for sprinkling
Oil

Slice the peeled plantain into four pieces lengthwise and cut these pieces into ¼ inch thick slices. Deep fry them on a medium flame until they are very very crisp. The color of the chips will change to light brown. Be patient, it took about 20-25 minutes for me to get them really crisp. Remove from the oil and drain on a paper towel. Prepare the jaggery syrup by boiling the jaggery with 1/4 cup of water. When the syrup reaches a stringy consistency, turn off the flame and immediately add the chips to it. Sprinkle ginger powder and cumin powder. Stir very well to coat. Let it cool. When the chips are cold, sprinkle powdered sugar and mix again. This is to get rid of the stickiness of the syrup. Store in an airtight container.

This is my contribution to Sarah's quest for Onasadya dishes.