BEST NIGERIAN SIDE DISHES RECIPE: Side dishes are food that accompanies the entrée or main course during a meal. And in the world’s culinary scene, the Nigerian side dishes are not left out.

For your parties and family dinner/lunch, this favorite Nigerian side dishes will definitely be the highlight of your day.

First on our list is:

GIZDODO

Gizdodo is also known as dodo gizzard, similar to the kpomdodo.
The gizdodo is made with gizzard and plantain in a tasty tomatoes sauce.
Gizdodo can be eaten on its own but for a side dish, it goes with rice, beans and other dishes.

Have no idea on how to prepare this sumptuous dish? Follow these steps to learn…

GIZDODO RECIPE

Unlike other Nigerian dish, gizdodo is easy to make, consumes lesser time and came be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING GIZDODO

• Ripe plantain
• Gizzard (chicken, turkey or beef)
• Bell pepper
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Vegetable oil
• Maggi cube
• Curry powder
• Dried thyme
• Salt

HOW TO MAKE GIZDODO

• Simmer your washed gizzard on low medium heat in a pot, add chopped onions, 1 teaspoon curry powder, dried thyme, maggi cube.

• If properly cooked, transfer into a bowl and allow it to cool before slicing into cubes.

• Deep fry you cube sized plantain. When ready, place it on paper towel to drain excess oil.

• Fry the simmered gizzard

• Blend tomatoes, bell pepper and remnant onion. After blending, heat your pan and add vegetable oil and your blended sauce and leave to fry.

• When properly fried, add your plantain and gizzard in the stew, stir and leave for 9-10 minutes.

• Stir until you can see the richness of your stew sauce, your gizdodo is ready!

GIZDODO ACCOMPANIMENTS

Depending on your relish, gizdodo can be eaten on its own or used as side dish for:

• Jollof rice
• White rice
• Fried Rice
• Coleslaw
• Coconut rice
• Nigerian salad

MOI MOI

Made from peeled beans, prepared with pepper, seasoning and oil. The Nigerian moi moi is used as a nutritional side dish for pap (akamu), bread eko.

MOI MOI RECIPE

For a family of five, this was the favorite of us all especially as children. We loved our moi moi fluffy, light and hot so mum knew how to prepare it the exact way to soothe our taste buds.
This recipe is easy to make and consumes little time, let’s dig in…

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING MOI MOI
• Kidney beans or black-eyed beans
• Bonney pepper
• Bell pepper
• Onion
• Maggi cubes (to taste)
• Crayfish
• Salt
• Vegetable oil or palm oil
• Fish (optional)
• Eggs (optional)

HOW TO MAKE MOI MOI
• Soak your beans in water for 5 to 10 minutes. After which you peel the first layer off to give you a smooth feel…

• Cut, wash, season and boil you fish, when properly cooked, carefully remove bone from flesh.

• Blend your peeled beans with your bell pepper, onion and Bonney pepper together until you get a smooth texture.

• Dissolve your maggi before adding into the blended mixture, if you are using palm oil, heat it and allow it to cool off before adding, this will prevent you from having the raw taste of palm oil in your moi moi.

• Finally add water to your mixture to prevent having it come out hard and not fluffy.

LEAF METHOD

I use this method for illustration because it brings out the best taste you desire. But if you cannot find it in the US, you can use an alternative like transparent leather or cupcake baking pan for it.

Result from baking pan

For the leaf method:

• Add some leaves at the layer of your pot, add water into the pot and allow to heat.

• Wash your leaves properly, fold it one after the other and add your mixture in between, put you fish or boil egg and place in the pot.

• Repeat the process once you have used up your whole bean mixture, cover the top of the pot with leaf and allow to cook.

Wala! Your moi moi is ready to eat…

MOI MOI ACCOMPANIMENTS
You can have you moi moi just as you want it with:

• Pap
• Custard
• Eko

KPOMDODO

The kpomdodo is a similar recipe with gizdodo, the only difference is that kpomo and plantain is used here.

kpomdodo is made with kpomo and plantain in a tasty tomatoes sauce. It can be eaten on its own but for a side dish, it goes with rice, beans and other dishes.

Have no idea on how to prepare this sumptuous dish? Follow these steps to learn…

KPOMDODO RECIPE

Kpomdodo is easy to make, consumes lesser time and came be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING KPOMDODO
• Ripe plantain
• kpomo
• Bell pepper
• Tomatoes
• Onion
• Vegetable oil
• Maggi cube
• Curry powder
• Dried thyme
• Salt

HOW TO MAKE KPOMDODO

• Simmer your washed kpomo on low medium heat in a pot, add chopped onions, 1 teaspoon curry powder, dried thyme, maggi cube.

• If properly cooked, transfer into a bowl and allow it to cool before slicing into smaller sizes.

• Deep fry you cube sized plantain. When ready, place it on paper towel to drain excess oil.

• Blend tomatoes, bell pepper and remnant onion. After blending, heat your pan and add vegetable oil and your blended sauce and leave to fry.

• When properly fried, add your plantain and gizzard in the stew, stir and leave for 9-10 minutes.

• Stir until you can see the richness of your stew sauce, your gizdodo is ready!

KPOMDODO ACCOMPANIMENTS

Depending on your relish, kpomdodo can be eaten on its own or used as side dish for:
• Jollof rice
• Fried Rice
• Coleslaw
• Coconut rice
• Nigerian salad

Was this recipe helpful? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Do not miss a thing by subscribing to our blog Kay’s Cuisines for free weekly recipes on Nigerian dishes.

FRIED PLANTAIN

Fried plantain is a perfect side dish for your fried rice, jollof rice, beans and fried eggs. The plantain is one of the best Africa’s favorite dishes.

This recipe makes your plantain crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

WHAT IS PLANTAIN

Plantain and Banana

Plantain though similar with banana, has striking differences in the sense that plantain is thicker and mostly eaten fried while banana is soft and eaten as a whole.

In Nigeria, fried plantain is referred to as dodo or bole.

HOW TO FRY PLANTAIN

• Peel and slice your plantain to your desired size or shape

• Add your vegetable oil in pan to heat

• When heated, pour in sliced plantains to fry

• Fry for 5 – 10 minutes until it is slightly brown

• Transfer to kitchen towel lined plate to drain excess oil

• You can now serve your delicious plantain

WHAT TO EAT WITH YOUR FRIED PLANTAIN
• Fried rice
• Spaghetti
• Fried eggs

Fried plantain served with jollof rice, chicken and fish

Was this recipe helpful? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Do not miss a thing by subscribing to our blog Kay’s Cuisines for free weekly recipes on Nigerian dishes.

AKARA

Akara is the favorite of most families in Nigerian, also known as bean cake, it is made from peeled and blended beans. Akara is used mostly as a dish for breakfast or dinner.

This recipe will guide you by giving you the best results for your bean cake.

INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING AKARA

Depending on the quantity you want, but for this recipe we shall be having:

• 1 cup black eye beans or kidney beans
• 2 bonney pepper
• 1 bell pepper
• 1 brown onion
• Vegetable oil or palm oil for frying
• 1 maggi cube
• And salt to taste.

HOW TO MAKE AKARA
• Peel your beans after soaking for few minutes to soften it

• Blend your peeled beans together with the Bonney, bell pepper and onion, add little water but make sure the mixture comes out thick.

• Pour blended beans in a bowl where you can easily add your maggi cube and salt to taste, then stir.

• Pour your oil into your frying pan, for deep fry make sure you pour in enough oil

• when your oil is heated properly, scoop your blended mix one after the other to form a round shape then allow to fry until both sides turns brown.

• When done, remove from oil and put on a paper towel to get rid of excess oil

• Your crunchy and delicious akara is done and ready to serve!

WHAT TO EAT WITH YOUR AKARA
• Pap
• Custard
• Bread
• Fried plantain

Akara served with milky pap

WHY IS YOUR AKARA FLAT?
If you followed this recipe and your akara turns out flat, it could be that you added too much water when blending or adding your seasonings to taste.

Remember: to have the best result, make sure your blended beans is thick enough so you can have a well-rounded, crunchy and fluffy bean cake.

HOW TO STORE

In situations where there are leftovers, allow your akara to cool completely before putting it in a Ziploc, store in a fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Was this recipe helpful? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Do not miss a thing by subscribing to our blog Kay’s Cuisines for free weekly recipes on Nigerian dishes.

NIGERIAN SALAD

Spice up your visit to Nigeria with a soothing taste of the Nigerian salad. This side dish is of high nutritional value and a vegan diet.

No stress at all making this dish, just a maximum of 20 minutes and you have yourself a well garnished Nigerian salad to dig!

INGREDIENTS FOR NIGERIAN SALAD

• 1 Cucumber
• Cabbage
• 6 Carrot
• Lettuce
• Onion
• Sweetcorn
• Sliced boiled eggs
• Boiled pasta
• Potatoes
• Salad tomatoes
• Corned beef
• Baked beans
• Salad cream

HOW TO MAKE NIGERIAN SALAD
• Wash all vegetables and cute as suitable
• Layer the vegetables in a clean bowl, you can start with cabbage, then carrot and it goes on.

• The main purpose of layering is to enable you get all ingredients in a portion when you take from any side.

• After layering all ingredients, you add your salad cream. The salad cream makes the whole process complete.

• And then you can now enjoy!

WHAT TO EAT WITH YOUR NIGERIAN SALAD
• Fried rice
• White rice
• Jollof rice
• Fried plantain

Nigerian salad served with fried rice and chicken

Was this recipe helpful? Tell us by leaving a comment below.

Do not miss a thing by subscribing to our blog Kay’s Cuisines for free weekly recipes on Nigerian dishes.