Unripe Plantain Chips Recipe

I am yet to come across a Nigerian who doesn’t love plantain chips, where tastes vary is usually in Ripe (Sweet) Vs Unripe plantain chips.  I personally prefer unripe plantain chips.The one thing I check for when I buy packaged plantain chips is the type of oil it was fried in; more often than not companies fry their chips in Palm oil which adds extra saturated fat and calories to the chips. I recently decided to start making and storing my own chips, the resulting product is so yum, I had to share.

Ingredients:

• 4 large green (unripe) plantains
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable, canola or groundnut oil for frying (about 3-6 cups)

Directions:

• Add oil to large pot with depth,  place on medium heat and leave to come to 375degrees ( you can always test the heat level of the oil with a small piece of plantain)
• In the meantime, peel the plantains. Using a mandoline or very sharp knife, thinly slice the plantains (length wise or width wise).
• Fry the plantain 8-12 strips at a time until golden. ( it is important that you do not crowd the pot with plantain , if you fry too many at a time there is potential for the chips to come out soggy )
• Transfer the plantains to a paper towel lined bow, sprinkle with salt.
• Repeat the last 2 steps until all the plantains are fried.

Healthy Variation: Make this recipe even healthier by baking the plantain. Simply pre heat the oven to 400f. Toss plantain slices with some oil and salt. Bake for 16 minutes turning once at the 8minutes mark.

Note: Experiment with flavours like Lime and chilli pepper. Simply add Lime juice + zest or powdered pepper before frying.

• You can store the plantain in an airtight container for long term use