Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de platano

One of the benefits of having a Banana Republic (not the clothing store, but the real thing!) is the tremendous amount of recipes available with plantains that became an integral part of the Guatemalan gastronomy. Today’s beverage is atol de platano, made from boiled plantains, sugar and cinnamon.

Does anyone has the actual recipes for all these atoles? Would you mind sharing them with us.

Labor Code Side Note: The Guatemalan labor code allows for two short breaks of about 15 minutes (in addition to the lunch break); one in the morning and the other in the afternoon. The breaks are known as refacción, and the act of eating something in this short break is known as refaccionar. Bon appetite my friends!

19 Responses to "Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de platano"

Claudia says:
May 16, 2008 at 6:56 am
MMMMM que rico, once again I am shamed in not knowing exactly how the recipe goes. I know you boil ripe plantains, with sugar & cinnamon sticks, (ratio of 2:1) after they are soft you put the liquid & plaintains in a blender (minus cinnamon sticks) and voila.. I don’t know if anything is added for thickening though.
Now that you mention refaccion, as a kid my mom always gave us refaccion late in the afternoon. Most of the time we would get pan frances con pate y mantequilla and cafe con leche. (french bread with pate & butter with coffee w/ milk on the side) I have to mention one other thing . . it is so weird to see atol in styrofoam. I have not been back down there in 14 years, but back then they would serve it in a glass, there were no disposable cups.
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MO says:
May 16, 2008 at 10:53 am
Claudia, I’m with you on atol being served in styrofoam cups. I’m not a fan of styrofoam. when I lived in Guate most liquids bought from street vendors were served on plastic or ceramic cups and you drank it right there and returned the cup after you were done.
It was at that moment when a quick dip into a bowl full of water. Y disque que lo lavavan con agua limpia but you kind of knew it was agua chuca. I guess that’s what gave it that extra flavor..if you know what I mean. Now a days with hygiene being a factor vendors resort to styrofoam. Atol is atol no matter what container its served on….RIGHT people??
Also, I only remember afternoon refaccion as a kid. Coffee or milk with pan or cookies. Please don’t tell me there was refaccion also in the mornings!!! Was I being cheated out of a refaccion as a kid? I have a bone to pick with my parents if that’s true.
Everyone….Enjoy the weekend no matter where you are!
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ann says:
May 16, 2008 at 11:18 am
hmm…that sounds interesting. I’ve never heard of it before. I have some plantains at home. I shall try to make this 🙂
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Claudia says:
May 16, 2008 at 12:47 pm
There is also one other factor MO, portability, with the styrofoam I take it you pay & go, with the ceramic/glass containers you also got to socialize because you had to cool it off & drink it there & then, so you got to chismear or talk to people.
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MO says:
May 16, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Ah yes, portability. I forgot about that. I think that for our own mental well being we should take a few minutes out of our busy lives every once in a while and order an atol in a ceramic mug and while waiting for it to cool down take the opportunity to chat with a stranger or just relax and do some people watching or just let our minds space out. We should never underestimate the power of a hot atol (in a ceramic mug..that is!!).
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Firelion007 says:
May 16, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Oh my… my mom makes it, and is so delicious~!
You just have to try it. I like it with a little chunks of plantain, not completely blended. But i still like to vary now and then, and drink it very smooth. Yummy!!!
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Raquel says:
May 16, 2008 at 4:24 pm
haha – poor MO being cheated! We had refaccion in the mornings…but usually it was something savory – not sweet. My favorite was tostadas! Mmmmm! Or pan frances con aguacate y salsa picante…Yum!
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Cy says:
June 20, 2008 at 4:49 pm
So interesting! I never thought of platanos in this way and I´ve never seen anyone do this in the Dominican Republic.
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Henry says:
July 10, 2008 at 9:02 pm
Yo soy de Guate especificamente de Xela, perdon que no lo escriba en ingles pero lo indio de Guate no se me quita, solo queria comentar que el atol de platano es lo mejor, nosotros en mi casa lo tomabamos al menos una vez a la semana, si alguien tiene la receta que la pase porque puchica me muero por hacerlo.
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Ale says:
July 21, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Oooo.. I’m having fun exploring the blog. I love atol de platano and made some the other way– it’s so easy!
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Erick says:
October 10, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Ingredientes
6 Plàtanos
5 Tazas de Agua
1 Raja de Canela
1/2 Taza de Azucar
6 Bolitas de Pimienta Gorda
Procedimiento
1. Se lava los platanos y se ponen a cocer con todo y casacara y se agrega 3 tazas de agua.
2. Cuando esten cocidos los platanos se pelan y con el agua con que se cocieron los platanos y mas 2 tazas de agua hay que trituralos en la liquadora.
3. Esta mezcla lo pones en una olla y agregas la raja de canela, el azucar y pimienta gorda. Dejas hervir el atol por diez minutos a fuego lento.
Asi es comeo me acurdo que mi mama lo prerava
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JAVIER TORRES says:
October 22, 2008 at 4:16 pm
3 PLATANOS MADUROS
(3 RIPED PLANTAINS)
UNA RAJA DE CANELA
( 1 CINAMMON STICK)
AZUCAR (LA CANTIDAD QUE VOS QUERRAS)
(SUGAR (U DECIDE HOW SWEET U WANT IT) )
AGUA
(WATER
PROCEDIMIENTO: LAVAS BIEN EL PLATANO…CORTA LAS PUNTA DEL PLATANO DE LOS 2 LADOS…..PARTIS EL PLATANO COMO EN 3 UNIDADES…..LO PONES A COCER CON TODO Y CASCARA EN AGUA,A FUEGO LENTO, LO NECESARIO QUE CUBRA BIEN LOS PLATANOS…YA COCIDO LE QUITAS LA CASCARA…Y EN UNA LICUADORA,LICUAS EL PLATANO JUNTO CON EL AGUA EN CUAL LA COCISTE…EL AGUA DEL COCIMIENTO LE DA UN SABOR DELICIOSO….ESTO ME LO ENSENO MI ABLUELITA EN GUATE… YA LICUADO….PONES LO LICUADO EN UNA OLLA
Y LE PONES AGUA COMO UNAS DOS TAZAS DE AGUA O SEGUN EL ESPESOR QUE QUERRAS. YA QUE LE HAYAS PUESTO AGUA LE PONES LA RAJA DE CANELA…Y LO PONES A HERVIR A FUEGO LENTO…Y LE PONES AZUCAR (AL GUSTO)….Y YA QUE HAYA HERVIDO LO APAGAS. Y LISTO.
WASH DA PLANTAINZ AND CUT DA ENDZ OF DA PLANTAINZ OFF….CUT DEM IN 3 PIECEZ…LEAVE DA PLANTAIN PEALS ON DONT TAKE DEM OFF) THEN IN A POT U PUT DA PLATAINZ AND U PUT WATER….( JUST ENOUGH TO COVER DA PLANTAINZ)….U LET IT BOIL @ MEDIUM HEAT ….ONCE THEY R COOKED U PEEL THEM N PUT DEM IN DA BLENDER AND U BLEND DEM WITH DA SAME WATER U BOILED DEM WITH…THIS WILL GIVE DA ATOL DE PLATANO A GREAT TASTE..DATZ WUT MA GRANDMOTHER TAUGHT ME IN GUATEMALA..ONCE U BLENDED THEM…U PUT DA BLENDED PASTE IN A POT AND U PUT ABOUT 2 CUPZ OF WATER OR DEPENDING DA THICKNESS OF DA ATOL UR LOOKIN 4. PUT IT @ LOW HEAT….N U THROW IN DA CINAMMON STICK …ONCE IT STARTS TO HEAT UP U PUT DA SUGAR ( SUGAR AMOUNT U DESIRE DEPENDING HOW SWEET U WANT IT)…..N ONCE IT BOILED….ITZ DONE
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yassmis says:
November 24, 2008 at 12:17 pm
gracias yo staba nececitando esa receta
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RUDY says:
January 19, 2009 at 9:08 pm
puchica mucha ya se les olvido el espanol,pero el atol es muy sabroso y mi abuela usa un colador de mano y le sale ese muy sabroso mi mama lo licua y no tiene el mismo sabor usando los mismos ingredientes.
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RRene says:
January 2, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Muchisimas gracias a los que dieron la receta. Feliz año 2010
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Carlos G. says:
May 6, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Puchica señores y señoras! Estando tan lejos como que se nos olvidan las cosas, pero no los sabores de nuestra querida Guate. Ultimamente me ha dado por la cocina en mis dias de descanso y estaba deseando la receta del atol de platano, para hacerlo y degustarlo junto con mi mujer y mis patojos. Ah, no se les olvide que los atoles (si mal no recuerdo) se servian en batidores de barro, que son algo asi como los antiguos “mugs” que ahora vienen de muchos lados pero,principalmente de China…!!! Saludos a todos los chapines que lean este comentario.
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salsero doscientosseis says:
March 21, 2012 at 8:21 pm
Gracias!! Acabo de hacer mi atol y me recordo a mi tierra querida =D Gracias por la receta =D
from seattle Wa
ron
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Guatemalan Cuisine: Atol de platano

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