← Nouns Cooking · West & East African

Ingredients

• 8 green matoke bananas (or 4 green plantains)
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves Garlic, chopped
• 2 cm piece Ginger, grated
• ½ tsp Cumin
• ½ tsp Chilli flakes
• 400 g Tinned tomatoes
• 400 g tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 250 ml vegetable stock
• 200 ml Coconut milk (optional)
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 handful Coriander (cilantro), chopped

Method

1. Oil your hands or wear gloves, as the sap stains. Top and tail the matoke, slit the skin lengthways and peel it off. Cut into chunks and drop into a bowl of salted water so they do not brown.
2. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat and fry the onion for 5 min until soft. Add the garlic, ginger and cumin and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and chilli flakes and simmer for 5 min until slightly thickened.
4. Drain the matoke and add it with the beans and stock. Cover and simmer for 20–25 min, until the matoke is fork-tender and some pieces are starting to break down into the sauce. Stir in the coconut milk, if using, for the last 5 min.
5. Mash a few pieces against the side of the pot to thicken the sauce, season with salt and scatter over the coriander.

Tips

• Green plantains take a little longer than matoke; keep adding splashes of stock until they are soft.
• For a meaty version, brown 400 g beef first and simmer it in the sauce until tender before adding the matoke.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Eat Well Abi Kaluhi's Kitchen