Bulk Bananas Savors Ghanaian Food in Accra

Fried plantain recipes courtesy of The Nigerian Cookbook by Miriam Isoun and H.O. Antonio

Fried plantain is popularly called dodo in Nigeria.

Directions

The plantain to be used for dodo may be just ripe or even over-ripe, depending on the desired taste.
Remove the skin of the plantain. Cut into round or lengthwise thin slices (1/2 cm or ¼ inch thick) or into large or small chunks, again depending on taste and how they are to be served.
As a garnish or side dish, thin round slices or small cubes may be preferred: as a snack, large chunks may be appropriate. Season lightly with salt.
Heat the oil (palm oil or vegetable oil) 1 cm or ½ inch deep in a frying pan.
Fry the plantain one layer at a time so as not to reduce the heat and to prevent the pieces from sticking to each other. When they are light to medium brown on both sides remove them from the oil and drain. Serve hot. Children love dodo!

Dodo Ikire

A slight variation to the fried plantain recipe described above is dodo ikire – made using over-ripe plantain seasoned with dry pepper.

Directions

Over-ripe plantain are cut into cubes.
Dry pepper seeds and salt are added and the cubes are fried in a cone shaped basket used as a mold.
This is a spicy treat.

Happy Holidays! hope you all enjoyed the Christmas and New Year holidays with family and friends; if not with family and friends, hope you had a relaxing break, anyways. I was really excited about visiting my aunt in Kwara state, but unfortunately, life happened and I was not able to make it. However, to make up for it, I has an exciting time in Ghana, which trumps the visit to Kwara. A good friend of mine was getting married in Ghana and my husband and I decided it was a good reason as any to check out our friendly neighbors in Ghana and try a few of their gastronomic delights.

I knew the trip would be eventful when we got to Murtala International Airport in Lagos and realized that we did not have our passports with us. My husband waited at the airport to schmooze the airline staff into not closing the check-in counter, while I frantically rushed back to grab the all-important documents. Half-way back to the airport, I decided to actually check the passports since, in my hurry, I had simply grabbed the closest-looking document to a passport. I realized that I taken my brother’s passport instead of my husband’s and had to make another quick U-turn back to get the accurate documents.

Anyway, finally made it back to the airport with the 2 passports in-hand, breathlessly ran into the airport lobby, only to learn that the flight had been delayed; it was delayed for 3 hours! My husband and I were relieved when we got to Accra late in the night, with the hotel pick-up driver waiting in the lobby. We enjoyed a cool drive to our hotel.

The wedding was absolutely stunning, but the highlight for me was the Ghanaian food. It was completely heavenly. There were several events throughout the week, but my favorite was brunch hosted at the Ghana Artist Alliance Gallery at Omanye House, La before LaPalm Beach Hotel, Accra. I strongly recommend visiting the gallery when next you are in Accra. It has modern and historic pieces ranging from fabric, to beads to contemporary artworks for sale. The brunch menu included a traditional Ghana soup, jollof rice, rice and beans, chicken and beef cooked in several different ways, “pomo” and other types of “orishirishi”. The food was tasty, had variety, and very well made.