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Tortillas de Plátano (Plantain Tortillas)

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I

Origin

Tuxtepec and Usila, Oaxaca, Mexico

II

Description

A regional tortilla from the Tuxtepec and Usila areas of Oaxaca, made by combining ground green plantain with corn tortilla masa. The plantain lends a subtly sweet, starchy character and a softer, more pliable texture than a pure corn tortilla. When cooked correctly on a hot clay comal, these rounds inflate — a sign that the inside steam has nowhere to escape, leaving a tender, pillowy interior. Diana Kennedy documented this preparation as part of the living corn and plantain traditions of lowland Oaxacan communities.

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The Thread

—Coastal Colombian cooks combine ground green plantain with corn masa in patties or flatbreads for the same historically practical reason — extending scarce corn — producing a similarly chewy, subtly sweet flatbread cooked on a budare or griddle. Colombian · Caribbean · Coast
—Tatale are spiced green-plantain pancakes cooked on a dry griddle; like the Tuxtepec tortilla they rely on raw green plantain ground to a paste as the primary starch, producing a dense, chewy round with a faint vegetal sweetness that functions as a starch alongside savoury dishes. West · African · (Ghanaian)
—Puerto Rican cooks press unripe green plantain (Musa paradisiaca) into thin rounds as an alternative to wheat or corn wrappers; the shared logic — plantain as a functional, starchy substrate that delivers chew and mild sweetness — mirrors the Oaxacan lowland tradition, even where the specific technique diverges. Puerto · Rican
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Flavour Context

The cooked tortilla carries a faint, grassy sweetness from the raw green plantain (Musa paradisiaca, unripe), grounded by the mineral, earthy backbone of nixtamalized corn masa — neither flavour overwhelms the other. The aroma on the comal is starchy and faintly vegetal, warmer and more complex than a pure corn tortilla. In texture the tortilla is noticeably chewier and more supple, with a tender, almost doughy interior pocket where it has puffed, absorbing the fat or sauce of whatever it accompanies.

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