Apiti - Steamed Plantain Pudding

I know I haven't blogged in a long time... that's because I haven't really cooked anything. It's a very weird period in my life right now, but in due time everything will be fine :) . 

So anyway, I've been missing my grandma a lot lately and craving everything she used to make for me as a kid. My grandma raised me and pretty much cooked all of my meals when I was growing up. One of my all time childhood favorites is called Apiti (sp?). She made it for me all the time, it literally is a piece of heaven.  It's pretty much steamed plantain pudding made from a mixture of very ripe plantains, cornmeal, onions, peppers and other spices. Unfortunately,  I never wrote down the recipe and my mom doesn't know how to make it either, so I decided to make it completely from memory.  To my delightful surprise, the apiti turned out almost exactly like my grandma's, I think the only thing that was missing was my grandma's love. Hope you love this recipe as much as I do. Enjoy :)

Ingredients

6 very ripe plantains (The skin should be black - but not moldy -and the flesh should be soft/mushy to  
the touch. You may need to keep it for a few more days after you buy it)
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal (I like the grainy texture of stone ground cornmeal)
1/2 red bell pepper
8 scotch bonnet pepper (use more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
1 medium red onion
1/4 cup of dried ground crayfish
1/4 cup of heated palm oil
2 bouillon cubes (I use African knorr cubes)
Dash of salt
Foil paper/mini foil trays

DIRECTIONS

Peel the plantain.

 In a large bowl, mash the plantain with a masher or a wooden spoon. It should be really easy to do because the plantain should be very soft and super mushy. ...dont use a blender/food processor for the plantain because it turns into a runny paste. you want a little bit of chunk in it.

Add the crushed bouillon cubes to the mashed plantain

Using a blender/food processor, grind bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, onion, crayfish.

Add blended mixture to the plantain and mash/stir

Add 3/4 cup of yellow cornmeal to the mixture and stir/mash

Heat  the palm oil on the stove for about 4mins. Pour the heated palm oil into the plantain mixture. As you pour, you should hear it sizzle. Add a dash of salt, stir it all together. 

Allow the mixture to rest for about 10-15 minutes. Then pour into individual foil pouches. You can also use mini foil trays. Fill the pouch about a 3rd of the way.  (instructions on how to make a foil pouch are at the bottom of the page). 

Seal the pouch and place in a pot filled a tenth filled with water.The water is the source of the steam.  I place a steam tray at the bottom of the pot to make sure water doesn't touch the foil pouches. 

Allow to steam for about 45minutes. Keep an eye on it, because you may need to add more water to the pot. 

You know it's done when the content of the pouch is firm to the touch. Remove from heat and allow to rest for about 10 minutes. unwrap the package and transfer the deliciousness :) to a plate/dish. 

I serve my apiti with a side of stewed fish, but it can also be eaten alone.  It can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Enjoy :) 

How to make Foil Pouches

1. Tear a piece of foil paper

2. Fold in half

3. Seal two of the open edges by folding. 

Fill pouch with mixture and seal 

Chicken-Dodo Stir Fry

Happy New Year EVERYONE!!!

So I've been experimenting a lot with food combinations... The other day I made colored pancakes.. well, I used the same recipe for red velvet pancakes, but as I was making it, I was like why stick to red, so I made purple (combination of blue and red colors), green and red velvet.. Was pretty yummy.. anyway, I digress...

I love stir fry and I love dodo (fried/baked plantain). So wanted to see what it would taste like if I combined both of 'em and that was how chicken-dodo stir fry was born.

I marinaded my chicken in homemade teriyaki marinade and cooked the chicken in the marinade, then added the plantain and the veggies and cooked everything together.

The recipe for my homemade Teriyaki marinade is below, but u can also use store bought teriyaki (use the kikkoman brand). But u still need to add ginger, garlic, brown sugar, thyme, black pepper and a little bit of soy sauce and sesame oil.

Ingredients For Teriyaki Marinade: 
2tbs Soy sauce
2tsp Sesame oil
3/4 cup Sake (Dry rice Wine)
1/4 cup Mirin (sweet sake)
piece of grated Ginger (you can replace with 2tbs ginger powder)
2 chopped Garlic cloves (you can also replace with 2tsp minced garlic or garlic powder)
3 tsp brown sugar
1tsp dried thyme
pinch of black pepper

Do not use any salt.. the sake and soy sauce have enough salt in 'em

mix all the ingredients together  in a bowl and add the chicken to it.

I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs, because the thighs have more flavor than chicken breast. but u can use chicken breast if you want to. cut the chicken into strips. I am very lazy so I just use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the chicken. steep the chicken into the marinade and allow to sit for about 20mins (or until you're done frying the plantain)

Ingredients for plantain portion:
1 ripe plantain
1 1/2 cup of oil to fry
pinch of salt

As the Chicken marinades, slice and cube the plantain. salt slightly and fry until golden brown. Alternatively, you can put the plantain in an oven. grease a grill pan and place cubed plantain evenly on the tray. Do not stack the plantains on top one another. set oven at 350 for about 15mins. and turn for another 10mins.. until golden brown.

Ingredients for Stir-fry
1 medium onion
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
a bunch of scallions (green onions/spring onions)
1/4lb of sugar snap peas
3 cloves of garlic
1tbs red pepper flakes

Directions

You can also add mushrooms or any of your favorite veggies.

Thinly slice the peppers long from top to bottom. Also slice onions and chop up the garlic. Cut the green portion of the scallions into two and thinly slice the white portion. just rinse the sugar snap peas.

slightly grease your pan and add the marinated chicken.. allow to cook for about 5mins until the chicken caramelizes. The brown sugar in the marinade will caramelize the chicken.

Cook for a few minutes, then add onion, garlic and the bottom white portion of the scallions. Allow to cook for a few minutes and then add plantain. Then add the other veggies stir and allow to cook for another 5mins

You may add some chopped basil at this point if you wish.

Chicken-dodo stir fry is ready to consume... Enjoy :)

Note: You can use the same recipe for stir-fry, just remove the plantain portion!