If you have been following me for a while, you know I am all about fun, colourful, delicious food, and the more vegetables I can put in, the better.
I like my chapati in all colours and flavours, so long as it is healthy (natural) and delightful to my taste buds.
These chapatis are like aloo paratha, but instead of a mashed potato filling, I made one with spicy steamed ripe plantain.
Can you peep the yellow plantain peeking through?
These delicious and filling chapati are a perfect lunchbox or tea time snack, or even with a delicious stew.
Let’s get started:
You will need 1-2 yellow ripe plantain. Boil or steam the plantain with one teaspoon of mixed spices and some salt and pepper.
I used one large yellow plantain.This is the mixed spice blend I used this time round. I like it in chapati and vegetable dishes and bakes.Once the plantain is soft and cooked, drain and set aside to cool down completely.
Move on to the chapati dough…
In a large bowl, mix 1 cup each of besan (chickpea flour), all purpose flour and atta (wholemeal) flour.
I like adding besan flour to my chapati, it makes them softer, adds a yellow tinge and some flavour too.
For the chapati dough, I used 2 tbsp of this coconut oil. Paracahute brand works well too.To the flour, add one teaspoon each of salt and sugar, and 1 cup of warm water. Knead it all well till it becomes a soft and smooth dough.Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 30-40 minutes.Once the plantain is cooled down, mash till soft and add a tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves.
Now to make the chapati…
Divide your chapati dough into half, take one half and roll out into a large circle.
Apply a bit of oil, and sprinkle some flour.Add half of the plantain stuffing, sprinkle a little more flour and roll into a tight jelly roll.Cut in a similar manner to cinnamon rolls…Pinch the top of the rolled chapati balls to close them then set aside on a floured surface, Proceed to do the same for the other half of the dough.These amounts made 14 medium chapatis.
Once done, heat up your chapati pan on medium heat, not too hot.
Roll out each chapati as you make them. You do have to be more careful as they filling will seep out and they may stick to the surface you are rolling out on.Place chapati on the now heated pan and let it cook on one side till bubbles form or rise, then flip to the other side.
You can either let them cook through and brush with oil after you remove from heat, or add the oil to the pan, like normal chapati.
Can you see the plantain patches on the chapati?They look, smell and taste so good!The chapati is soft but flaky, and there are little bits of plantain sweetness in each bite.
You can have them with a stew or curry, or for tea. Or just plain on it’s own. The kids loved them plain, I guess cause of the sweetness of the plantain which blends well with the savory spice and fried bread flavour of the chapati.
Ripe plantain and sweet citrus flavours of fresh tangerines blend beautifully together in fluffy goodness.
Want to make them more decadent and delicious? Add in dark chocolate and a tangerine butter sauce and you’re on the highway to flavour heaven!
To make these delicious pancakes you will need:-
• 2 really ripe plantains, that is, yellow with lots of black, means its much sweeter, and a great way to use up your overripe plantain.
• 2 cups self raising flour
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed tangerine juice.
• 1/2 cup buttermilk.
• 1 large egg.
• 1/4 cup coconut oil.
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon.
• 1/4 cup chopped dark chocolate or chips.
Method.
The recipe is pretty straightforward.
Blend all the liquid ingredients, that is the egg, buttermilk, oil and the plantain till smooth. Pour into a bowl and add the flour, mix gently the batter will look something like this…
Then lastly fold in the chocolate.
Let the batter rest a bit, and make the same way you make your usual pancakes.
Soft, fluffy, sweet smelling little cakes of delight. This recipe makes 10-12 pancakes.
The best thing to serve them with?
How about a tangerine, chia and butter sauce? Yum!
Don’t they look yummy?
I love pancakes in all forms, and this is another favorite way to make them when tangerines are in season. Definitely worth a try!
It is no secret we love plantain in our household in all its forms.
I have shared another plantain bread recipe here on the blog, but this one is a bit different. It is sweeter and has some different additional ingredients, which makes it more moist, and do not blame me when it disappears in a blink.
Look at how beautiful that loaf is!
Ingredients are:
2 overripe plantains, (that are more black than yellow).
2 eggs.
1/2 cup of good quality coconut oil (can be alternated with unsalted softened butter).
2/3 cup sugar.
11/2 cup whole wheat flour (atta). You can use ordinary flour 1 cup and 1/2 cup of the atta flour too.
1/2 cup natural yoghurt.
1 tsp baking soda.
11/2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp ground cinnamon.
1 tsp vanilla essence.
1/2 cup grated dark chocolate.
1 tbsp chia seeds.
2 tbsp oats.
a small pinch of salt.
Method.
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Grease your loaf pan.
In a large bowl, mash your plantain and add the eggs, sugar and oil. Mix well.
Next goes in the vanilla, chia seeds and natural yoghurt followed by the dry ingredients and cinnamon.
Mix well but gently till its a thickish batter.
Pour into your loaf pan.
Top with some sesame seeds and the chocolate. You can swirl in the chocolate a bit of you wish.
Bake for 35-45 minutes.
[PS. I use a temperamental gas oven, it took a little over 40 minutes to get it right. So, start checking at the 35 minute mark to be sure.]
The cake is moist, sweet and crumbly. This recipe is a keeper.
It tastes even better the next day, if it manages to last that long.
Beautiful, moist, delicious cake with an amazing aroma that will invite anyone around to your kitchen.
One of the things I love about Kampala is the fact that plantains are easily available. ‘Gonja‘ as they are known here are steamed, fried, baked, roasted/ grilled and even make some crunchy tasty crisps that my son loves a bit too much!
I am always assured of help by my little sous chef when his fave is on the dinner menu.
With it’s constant presence in my kitchen, I have been trying different recipes and ways to cook this delicious vegetable/ fruit. Here are some of the ways we have had it so far, and I will be sure to share any more new recipes using them.
You can pan fry them and have them with wings and a salad.
One can also deep fry them if they are still firm, they are a great snack that way. I like them yellow almost black though, which makes them better suited for baking and pan frying as they are softer then. Deep frying the really ripe ones makes them absorb too much oil.
I like them this way. If they are too ripe ,bake them into a lovely plantain bread. just mash/ blend them like you would bananas for banana bread.You can fry them with little to no oil in a non stick pan and have them with yummy fried fish and a warm cabbage beetroot salad. Easy oven baked plantains with a sausage stew and some coleslaw. Quick, easy and a hit with the kids.Who said you can’t have mashed plantains. Steam them and mash with a splash of warm milk, some butter and some pepper. Have them with a nice stew. It is so YUMMY!!Or pan fry them and have them with some spicy chicken and salsa.
I do not want to lie and say I have a favourite way of having them, they are that versatile and delicious on their own or with other sides. I want to try making them with coconut milk next. How do you like your plantain?
This quarantine period has seen many people attempt to bake from home all over the world. It is so bad in some places that there are flour, sugar and yeast shortages because of it!
I am no bread baker, preferring to limit my greatbaking talents to banana bread and roasting vegetables, can’t mess that up right? In spite of having a gas oven that I can barely understand and not owning an oven thermometer I decided to give in to the bug and attempt to bake a loaf. I used the below recipe shared on an online baking group.
I used all purpose flour. And followed the recipe to get this lovely loaf that was so delicious.
Not bad for a first attempt right?
Now the bug really bit and I had to try some dinner rolls too.
Had the rolls with some lovely pumpkin soup. Divine!
And because we have plantains in plenty here, I decided to bake some plantain bread on the stovetop using a double sided pan. I was quite happy with the outcome. This is the recipe I used. Pour the batter on the greased pan and cover. Place on a tawa or cast iron flat pan on medium low heat and bake for about 35 minutes then flip to brown evenly on both sides. Let bake for about 10-15 minutes.
Yummy Plantain bread, best way to deal with overripe plantains.
What have you been baking during the lockdown period?
MY KAMPALA NOTEBOOK 