Plantain Pancakes with Spicy Maple Syrup and Peanuts

 These delicious plantain pancakes are topped off with a spicy mix of chili, maple syrup and crushed peanuts to produce a delicious treat!

These delicious plantain pancakes are inspired by Nigerian flavors that are typically eaten natively with plantain. Plantains are a major food staple of Nigerian and West African cuisine. In fact if you were to question a Nigerian about their favorite food, a lot of the answers might include a variation of rice, jollof rice or beans with one thing in common: a side of fried plantains locally called dodo. As one of the favorite staples in the Nigerian kitchen, plantains are prepared in various ways to cater to the local diet; they are blended into a dry flour which forms the base of swallows like ‘amala‘, they are roasted whole as a snack commonly known as ‘Boli’, diced and fried and eaten with a sauce, stew, or as a side called ‘dodo’ or prepared as a pottage. One of the more recent ways to enjoy plantains is to make it into a pancake and thus we have this delicious twist on the classic pancake.

Ingredients

Here’s an overview of the ingredients. A concise list of ingredients with exact measurements and instructions can be found in the recipe card below.

Extra ripe plantains: I recommend using extra ripe plantains to add sweetness and softness to the plantain pancakes. This is another reason I love this recipe because it offers me a way to use extra ripe plantains instead of tossing them.

Milk: I used plant based milk but feel free to use any milk of your choice.

Lime Juice: Juice from a half cut of lime should be enough.

Vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

All purpose flour: I used the white, unbleached version

Corn meal: I recommend medium grind

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt

Butter for frying