Haitian Plantain Porridge

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Nzingah Oniwosan | Yes Baby I Like It Raw, LLC 🇭🇹 (@yesbabyilikeitraw)

Happy Haitian Heritage Month! The month of May was designated as the month that we celebrate our culture, history, and achievements.  May 18 is our flag day is celebrated in a big way in Haiti and abroad. This month I plan to share a few traditional recipes that I was able to convert.  Today I am sharing one of my favorite traditional dishes, Plantain Porridge. Growing up as a child I loved this dish. My grandmother taught me how to make it and it was a beautiful bonding moment for us.  It uses the key elements in for a sweet Haitian dish: cinnamon, star anise, and almond essence. Once I became vegan I worked on converting it to have no dairy. This recipe is pretty dead on to the original version. I have had my friends’ taste it and they gave me a thumbs up. I recently made it at the Women of Color Healing Retreat and it was a crowd pleaser.  Once you make it I promise you will see why it is one my favorites.

Ingredients:

• 1 large green plantain
• Filtered water
• 1 can of vegan condensed milk or 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3-4 star anise
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or vegan butter
• Sweetener of your choice
• 1 teaspoon of almond essence
• 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg

Instructions:

In a medium saucepan add 2 cups of water, cinnamon stick, star anise, coconut oil, and 2 tablespoons of sweetener.  Bring it to a rolling boil. While the water is coming to a boil, peel and chop plantain into small pieces. Add the chopped plantain to your blender add enough water to cover the plantain.  Blend until smooth. Add this mixture to saucepan once you have a rolling boil. Reduce to medium heat and stir the mixture constantly until it thickens. Approximately 3-5 minutes. This will prevent it from becoming lumpy.  Once it is thickens add the coconut milk or vegan condensed milk, and almond essence. Add sweetener to taste. If you use condensed milk you will most likely not need to add any additional sweetener. Reduce heat and let cook for additional 5-7 minutes. Add nutmeg at the end. When serving , place in bowl and garnish with ground cinnamon.