Plantain Roti (Plantain Tortilla)

Plantain Rotis (tortillas) on a wooden plate with a few plantains above the plate and a green napkin to the left

Plantain Roti (Plantain Tortilla)

Plantain roti is a delicious, gluten-free alternative to the traditional wheat tortilla. This 4-ingredient recipe offers two different cooking methods.

Course Vegetarian Side Dish

Cuisine Caribbean, Caribbean/Gluten Free

Keyword plantain roti, plantain tortilla

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Servings

Calories 303kcal

Equipment

Medium Saucepan
Tortilla Press or Rolling Pin
Food Processor
Skillet or Parchment Lined Sheet Pan

Ingredients

4 Green Plantains
6 cups water⁣
1 teaspoon kosher salt⁣
1 tablespoon oil

Instructions

Peel the plantains and cut into 2 inch pieces. Then add the plantains, all of the water and kosher salt to a medium saucepan on medium heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Continue to cook until the plantains are fork tender (about 10 mins).
When the plantains are fork tender, drain reserving ¼ cup of the liquid, then crush the plantains with a fork or mortar and pestle until completely smooth. You can also do this by adding the plantains to the food processor and blending until it becomes a smooth dough like consistency but you will need a high powered food processor for this.
While crushing the plantains, if needed you may add 1 tablespoon of the reserved liquid at a time to help the plantains process smoothly⁣.
Next, separate the crushed/processed plantains into 6 balls (about 1/3 cup of crushed plantains per ball)⁣ and place on a tortilla press lined with parchment paper. Press each ball into a thin disk. You can also roll the dough between parchment paper using a rolling pin and then shape with a plate or small bowl.
When ready to cook your tortilla or plantain roti add a skillet to medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, brush with oil, then add your tortilla/roti. Cook for 2 minutes, then flip and cook for another 2 minutes. Plantain tortillas may puff up during cooking and may get a few brown spots.⁣
Remove from the heat and immediately wrap with kitchen towel to to keep the roti warm. Repeat the cooking process for the remaining tortillas/roti.
⁣You may also cook the tortillas in the oven by preheating the oven to 400°F. Then place the rolled out roti/tortillas on a parchment lined sheet pan and bake at 400 °F for 10 minutes. ⁣Remove from the oven and wrap in a clean kitchen towel to keep them warm.
Serve with your favorite curries and stews and enjoy.

Notes

You can choose to not peel the plantains before boiling. Make a few slits in the plantains (like I show in the step by step above) then add then to the pot.
You can use plantains with varying degrees of ripeness for different results. Choose completely green plantains for a tortilla with no sweetness. Choose some with a little yellow for a softer tortilla and a bit of sweetness. Choose yellow but firm plantains for a sweet wrap that is very soft. This is the hardest one to work with and gets very sticky when crushed in the food processor. I recommend crushing it by hand and kneading it together to form the "dough."

Nutrition