Fried Dodo is what Nigerian’s call Fried Plantain. A much loved side dish for Nigerian’s, you will find it accompanying many of my dishes. Sweet and savoury, deep fried, caramelised on the outside and soft on the inside! Plantain can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It pairs well with egg, bread, rice, meat and fish!

I grew up eating plantain, a common fruit found in our house. My mother would fry it, bake it and mash it! It was always a side dish at summer BBQ’s and goes fabulously with roasted or barbecued meat!

What is Plantain?

Plantain is a fruit from the same family as banana, sometimes called a cooking banana this fruit is eaten cooked not raw. Plantains need to be cooked because they are starchier than banana’s. Put it this way they are the bigger, firmer and thick skinned cousins of the banana. Plantain grows in South America, Africa and Asia and is a staple in many countries across those continents.

In South America they bake, fry, roast and smash them. Tostones and patacones are Puerto Rican and Columbian twice fried and smashed plantains. Platanos maduras are vertically sliced plantains that have been grilled. In Ivory Coast fried plantain is called ‘alloco‘! While in Western Nigeria it’s known commonly as dodo, we also bake and boil it. I will be doing a baked plantain recipe soon, come back and check it out! It does not really matter how they are cooked plantains are a great side dish, its no wonder they are so popular where they grow.

Plantain is also used to make plantain chips. Thinly sliced pieces of plantain seasoned with salt, chilli or paprika and deep fried to form the perfect crisp! These are also commercially produced and you can find these at your local Asian or African corner shop or green grocer.

What do i need?

• Kitchen roll is a must have when frying anything. You will want to remove the fried plantains to a bowl lined with kitchen roll to soak up the excess oil!
• Sunflower or vegetable oil for frying.
• Salt – all I put on my plantain is salt, sprinkle some fine salt over the plantain toss and you’re ready to go.

Tips & Tricks

• Deep frying is my favourite way to go when frying plantain. A shallow fry works too but a deep fry is going to cook evenly and faster.
• Fry in sunflower oil, I find this oil the best for frying anything!
• Pick ripe plantains for soft and sweet plantains. The best plantains for frying are mostly black with some yellow but are still firm enough to the touch.
• Careful not to fry too ripe plantain as the riper the fruit the more oil the plantain will absorb when frying.
• Can’t find plantains? Check in your local Asian, Indian or African market. In the UK most Asian corner shops sell them – just check outside!
• There are many shapes you can cut plantain into, my favourites are circular, cubes and slanted ovals.

Serving Suggestions –

I have been eating plantain throughout my life and there are very few things that pair badly. They are delicious on their own with some mayo, or with scrambled egg or even on the side of some chicken and rice! Give them a go next time you see them, you won’t regret it! Want to try another Nigerian recipe check out my Jollof Rice recipe. I will be doing more plantain recipes soon so keep an eye out or even better subscribe to my newsletter at the end of this page!

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and tag @chilliandlife on Instagram and hashtag it #chilliandlife #CANDL.