Vegan Gizdodo: A Plant-Based Twist on a Classic Nigerian Starter

I decided to make a plant-based version of gizdodo a Nigerian side dish, appetizer/starter (or main dish if you so choose) that has become popular over the years. It is often served at gatherings, parties, weddings, or any other time people are gathered and celebrating. To be honest, it’s not clear when exactly gizdodo became a thing, but it has definitely become popular of late. For instance, I don’t recall coming across this dish when visiting Nigeria as a child.  What is it? You may ask. Well it is usually fried plantains (aka dodo) and fried gizzards mixed into a hot peppery sauce. Nigerians, especially those in the southern part of the country, and more particularly in Lagos, love their hot pepper.

Mushrooms and dodo are the stars of this dish

The two main ingredients for gizdodo are the gizzards and the plantain (dodo). 

Mushrooms. For this plant-based version I am replacing  gizzards with button mushrooms, because we are all plant-based here. Button mushrooms are meaty and will provide the chunkiness required for this dish, especially as they are baked in the oven and tend to shrink.

Plantains. I used ripe plantains for this recipe, but feel free to use under ripe plantains, or mix ripe and under ripe plantains as this combination adds to the texture.

The peppery sauce brings this dish together

Sauce. The mushrooms and plantains are cooked first and mixed in a peppery tomato sauce. The sauce is easy to make as I demonstrate on the YouTube video here [LINK].

Liquid smoke. Nigerian food tends to have a smokey flavour as well. This is because traditionally many food are smoked to preserve them. Liquid smoke adds all of that smokiness while keep things plant-based. That said, it’s totally optional to add this to the recipe.

Dawa dawa powder. Dawa dawa powder is made from dried fermented locust beans. Now this is also another optional ingredient, but I have found that it adds a great umami flavour to this dish. You could also try chickpea miso if you can find it or miso paste, if you are not soy-free. These will also give that extra kick of flavour.

Finishings. Now this dish is all about chunks of ingredients. Chopped bell peppers and onions add that crunch and break up the heat from the sauce. Spring onions add a bit of freshness to round out all the heat and flavours.

It would be great to see your recreations of this recipe, so if you do make this dish definitely share and tag @plantfoodfederation and #pffplate on social media.

As with all other recipes on this blog you will find that this plant-based vegan gizdodo recipe is;

• Plant based
• Vegan
• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Soy free
• Egg-free
• Easy to make
• Uses simple  ingredients

Print Recipe

Plant-based Gizdodo (Mushdodo)

Serves: 2 Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 35 Minutes 35 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

200g button mushrooms (cremini)

2 large ripe plantains

1 tbsp coconut aminos

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

 

Sauce Ingredients

2 medium red onion 

2 medium roma tomatoes

1 - 2 scotch bonnet peppers

1 red bell pepper 

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp avocado oil

1 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp dawa dawa powder

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp sea salt

½ green bell pepper

½ red bell pepper 

½ medium red onion

2 stems spring onion

Instructions

• Wash the mushrooms, pat them dry and cut them into quarters and place into a bowl. Sprinkle over the salt and avocado oil and lay them on one half of a parchment lined baking tray
• Peel and cut the plantain into cubes and place them in a bowl.  Sprinkle over the salt and avocado oil and lay them on the other half of the parchment lined baking tray
• Bake in the oven at 180C for 20 minutes, turning the half way through to ensure they bake on all sides
• Roughly cut one of the two onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, garlic, place them in a blender or small food processor and coarsely blend
• Thinly chop the remaining onion
• Heat the avocado oil in a wide skillet on medium heat. Add chopped onion and stir for about 2 minutes until it becomes translucent
• Pour in the blended vegetables and stir together. Lower the heat and leave the sauce to simmer for about 10-12 minutes. This helps to the peppers and tomatoes to cook through
• In the meantime, cut the green and red bell peppers and onion halves into large cubes and set aside. Slice the spring onions.
• Season the sauce with salt as needed and continue to simmer for another 2 - 3 minutes. It should have thickened at this point.
• Remove the mushrooms and plantations from the oven. Pour them into the sauce and stir them together. Add in the fresh chopped peppers and onions and stir through, cooking for another 1 - 2 minutes, then remove the skillet from the heat and serve.