Gonja (Plantain) Donuts

April 15, 2016April 15, 2016 ~ Sophie ~ 18 Comments

There are a few banana plants in our backyard and every time we harvest a bunch (every time it is a different variety like gonja, bogoya, matooke and the kind that make juice — thanks to my parents) I learn something new about bananas in general. We had the privilege of harvesting plantain and I was inspired to write a blog post about it. Read the previous post. Then a crazy idea hit. What if we made plantain donuts? The plantain itself is already sweet and thus naturally sweetens the donuts.

In other totally unrelated news, we picked butiko A.K.A termite mushrooms last week. If you are unfamiliar, I wrote about them way back in 2014 here and made a pizza with them. Abundance (and probably a little too much) of rain came with a lot of benefits. The most exciting of them though, for me, was the growth of mushrooms in our front yard. We weren’t even aware until we saw people gathering over. Mothers, grandchildren, aunties, nieces and nephews were all gathered to collect these delicate mushrooms. The whole community knew. I learnt, from floating conversations, that these kind of mushrooms are quite pricey (two spoons for around 5000 shillings!); these mushrooms are medicinal (for what, I am yet to know); and that these mushrooms can actually be eaten raw. I did eventually try then raw and they are surprisingly packed with sharp flavour that is part nutty, mostly earthy and slightly salty. I am dreaming of making a raw butiko salad when they again grace us with their presence which will probably be next year. Nonetheless, it was an exciting experience.

Back to the donuts: These donuts are so easy to put together (I feel like I say this about almost every recipe but that is only because it is true) and create a mildly sweet soft and chewy taste that is plantain flavoured. They are quite a treat. Try them.

What you will need:
5 Ripe plantains
1 C. Flour
½ Tsp. Vanilla
¼ C. Milk
½ Tsp. Allspice
½ Tsp. Baking powder
Desiccated Coconut

Method
Mash the bananas. Add milk, vanilla and all spice. Mix well. Mix the baking powder with the flour. Gradually add flour till a firm dough forms. Spread out the dough with your hands till you have an inch of even thickness. Using a cookie cutter or any object that can cut shapes, cut out the dough and using a smaller object (think bottle cover) cut out the donut holes. Fry till golden brown. Sprinkle with coconut flakes. For the syrup, add 1 cup of water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a clean pan. Put on fire and let it boil. Remove from fire and let the syrup cool. Dip the donuts in the syrup and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.

Next time you have more than enough plantain, try these donuts and let me know how they turn out.

🙂

Sophie

Palm Oil Fried Beans With Plantain

April 7, 2016January 26, 2017 ~ Sophie ~ 3 Comments

Happy April! Amazingly, the first day of the month was welcomed by a heavy shower that lasted long into the day. All of a sudden, plants that have been thirsty for over 4 months got their fill of rain and now look as green and full of live as ever. Currently we are in the romantic stage of the rainy season. You know where it is so ideal to just pull up the blanket and sleep the whole day, take a hot cup of tea or a warm bowl of soup and watch the sky darken in the middle of the day. This is the time when comfort food is much-needed. First off are these hearty palm oil fried beans with the perfect accompaniment of plantain.

But first, there is something I feel I need to get off my chest.

For the longest time, I feel like there has been a huge misunderstanding between plantain and green bananas. Here in the country though, we do know the difference in our local languages but when it comes to English, the two(and generally all species of bananas) have been interchanged. Plantain is locally known as gonjya while Green bananas are known as matooke.

Plantain is a species of bananas that is eaten when ripe. It is usually steamed/boiled with or without the peelings before eating. When they are ready for harvesting, they slowly start turning yellow. The difference between plantain and regular yellow bananas is that plantain is never eaten raw. It has to be cooked. Plantain is popular in the whole nation. It is even considered street food once roasted and put on a stick/ skewer. Among many others, plantain goes really well with beans. Long distance travellers like buying roasted plantain from vendors because of its filling and sweet nature. As much as plantain is popular, it is pricey and is eaten on rare occasions.

Back to these palm oil beans. Palm oil is a spice in itself and one can be able to detect it from a meal. That is why it is perfect with beans because it adds a flavor even I cannot put into words. Just try it OK! Here is a post I wrote last year about palm oil. One thing I have discovered with cooking is that t is quite hard to stick to specific measurements. I find cooking by instinct a little bit more satisfying. But to kind of give you an idea of the serving size, here is a recipe.

RECIPE COMING SOON

Leave a comment below on what you cook with palm oil. Also, have you found someone who mistakes plantain for matooke?

🙂

Sophie

Top 12 Desserts to Serve this Easter

March 23, 2016March 23, 2016 ~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

desserts galore

We are all getting into the Easter mood which is just a few days from now. Of all the food to be served, I thought it would be great to highlight desserts we’ve made throughout the years. I hope you get to make some for your loved ones.