Green Plantain Skin Temperado

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(Photo by Arbitrary.Marks/Flickr)

Serves 2.

Ingredients

3 or 4 plantains or 2 if very large
250 ml/8 fl oz/1 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 scant teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dried prawns
1/2-1 teaspoon chilli powder

For finishing
1 tablespoon oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

Directions

With a sharp paring knife cut off and discard the stem end of each
plantain. (It helps to smear the hands lightly with oil before
preparing plantains to protect against sticky sap.) When removing the
skin, first make a shallow scraping cut and pull away and discard any
long fibres in the outer layer, as you would with celery.

Slice off the skin with a small sharp knife, as if peeling a potato
thickly. Because the skin will discolour very quickly, shred it
crossways into thin shreds and put it straight into a small saucepan
with the cup of water and the next 4 ingredients. Cover and simmer for
20 minutes or until skins are soft.

Meanwhile, cut the peeled plantains into thick slices, rub both sides
of each slice with ground turmeric and salt and set aside. When dried
prawns and plantain skins are soft and water almost evaporated, in
another pan (preferably a wok which requires very little oil) heat the
oil and fry the onions and curry leaves on medium high heat, stirring
frequently, until the onions are brown. Add contents of the first pan
to the oil and continue to toss mixture over heat until almost no
liquid remains.

Serve as an accompaniment to rice.

Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)