Fried plantain

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Fried plantain is a dish cooked wherever plantains grow, from West Africa to East Africa as well as Central America, the tropical region of northern South America and the Caribbean countries like Haiti to Cuba and in many parts of Southeast Asia and Oceania, where fried snacks are widely popular. In Indonesia it is called gorengan. It is called dodo in Yoruba in South West Nigeria,^[1] otherwise known as simply fried plantain in other parts of Nigeria. Kelewele is a fried spicy plantain or can be fried as a side dish for Red Red (African stewed black-eyed peas) and fish stew in Ghana.^[2]

Fried plantain is also eaten in some countries in South America or the Caribbean where African influence is present. For example, in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, and to a lesser extent Cuba. it is common to cut plantains in slices, fry them until they are yellow, smash them between two plates and fry them again. Puerto Rico has mofongo, a dish consisting of fried and pounded plantains with chicharrón, spices, fat (butter, lard or olive oil) and usually in a broth or served with meat, seafood on top or on the side. This is also a common dish in Haiti, referred to as bannann peze, and throughout Central America, referred to as patacones in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador, and as tostones in Nicaragua and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. In Honduras and Venezuela they are referred to as tajadas. Puerto Rico also has arañitas (spiders), where green and yellow plantains are shredded together, seasoned shaped into patties, then fried until crisp. Other traditional fried plantain dishes in Puerto Rico include alcapurria, pionono, ralleno de amarillo (similar to papa rellena but made with yellow plantain), and bolitas de plantain (plantain dumpling).