They are typically boiled or fried when eaten green, and when processed, they can be made into flour and turned into baked products such as cakes, bread and pancakes.

[10] Mature, yellow plantains can be peeled like typical dessert bananas; the pulp is softer than in immature, green fruit and some of the starch has been converted to sugar.

[12] As a staple, plantains are treated in much the same way as potatoes, with a similar neutral flavour and texture when the unripe fruit is cooked by steaming, boiling, or frying.

The plantain is usually dipped in sweetened rice and white flour batter and then fried in coconut or vegetable oil, similar to pisang goreng.

[19] Aritikaya kura, or vepudu are terms used for deep fried or cooked plantain dish in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India.

The fried plantains are then stuffed carefully into a plastic funnel and then pressed using a wooden pestle to compress and acquire a conical shape when removed.

In the Western hemisphere, tostones (also known as banann peze in Haiti, tachinos or chatinos in Cuba, and patacones in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Peru and Venezuela) are twice-fried plantain fritters, often served as a side dish, appetizer or snack.

In some countries, such as Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, the tostones are dipped in Creole sauce from chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp before eating.

[27] In Haiti, bannann peze is commonly served with pikliz, a slaw-like condiment made with cabbage, onions, carrots and scotch bonnet peppers.

The host or waiter may also offer them as barandas (guard rails), in common slang, as the long slices are typically placed on the sides of a full dish, and therefore look as such.

Some variations include adding honey or sugar and frying the slices in butter, to obtain a golden caramel; the result has a sweeter taste and a characteristic pleasant smell.

In Panama, tajadas are eaten daily together with steamed rice, meat and beans, thus making up an essential part of the Panamanian diet, as with Honduras.

On Colombia's Caribbean coast, tajadas of fried green plantain are consumed along with grilled meats, and are the dietary equivalent of the French-fried potatoes/chips of Europe and North America.

In Puerto Rico baked plátanos maduros are usually eaten for breakfast and served with eggs (mainly an omelet with cheese), chorizo or bacon.

[35] In Venezuela, a yo-yo is a traditional dish made of two short slices of fried ripened plantain (see Tajada) placed on top of each other, with local soft white cheese in the middle (in a sandwich-like fashion) and held together with toothpicks.

Alcapurrias are a traditional snack with masa dough made from grated green banana, yautía, seasoned with lard, annatto and stuffed with picadillo.

Plantains are fried once and mashed with garlic, fat (butter, lard or olive oil), chicharrón or bacon, and broth it is then formed into a ball and eaten with other meats, soup, vegetables or alone.

Puerto Rican piononos are sweet and savory treats made with a combination of fried yellow plantains, cheese, picadillo, and beaten eggs.

The matoke is then mashed while still wrapped in the leaves and is served with a sauce made of vegetables, ground peanuts, or some type of meat such as goat or beef.

Cayeye are usually served for breakfast with fresh grated Colombian cheese (Queso Costeño) and fried fish, shrimp, crab, or beef.

The typically dinner version includes plantains green or yellow boiled in broth, butter, sofrito and mashed with taro, cornmeal, or yams.

[citation needed] In Puerto Rico, mofongo is made by mashing fried plantains in a mortar with chicharrón or bacon, garlic, olive oil and stock.

Creole sauce may contain stewed beef, chicken or seafood; it is poured into a center crater, formed with the serving spoon, in the mofongo.

Grated green bananas and yautias are also used to form masa, a common ingredient for dishes such as alcapurria, which is a type of savory fritter.

[43] Fufu de platano is a traditional and very popular lunch dish in Cuba, and essentially akin to the Puerto Rican mofongo.

Fufu is also a common centuries-old traditional dish made in Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon and other West & Central African countries.

[citation needed] Chips fried in coconut oil and sprinkled with salt, called upperi or kaya varuthathu, are a snack in South India in Kerala.

In Tamil Nadu, a thin variety made from green plantains is used to make chips seasoned with salt, chili powder and asafoetida.

In the western/central Indian language Marathi, the plantain is called rajeli kela (figuratively meaning "king-sized" banana), and is often used to make fried chips.

[48][49] Plantain is 32% carbohydrates with 2% dietary fiber and 15% sugars, 1% protein, 0.4% fat, and 65% water, and supplying 510 kilojoules (122 kilocalories) of food energy in a 100-gram (3+1⁄2-ounce) reference serving (table).