Recipe: How To Make Gizdodo

I haven’t shared a recipe on here in a couple of years. After I shared my ‘What I Eat In A Day: Nigerian Food Edition‘ on my Instagram and Pinterest pages, the response that I received was surprisingly overwhelming. Today’s recipe that I will be sharing is Gizdodo.

The fitness industry can really paint this idealistic view of what a ‘fitness diet’ should look like and label ethnic dishes as unhealthy. Eventually, I’ll get into this topic later on this month. After sharing that I ate my ethnic dishes on a regularly basis, some of you shared your own versions based on your cultural and ethnic dishes and it got me thinking. I love to cook and sometimes I don’t have time to throw it down in the kitchen. Your response to the reel pushed me to start sharing more recipes again. Why don’t I share some of my favourite Nigerian dishes and encourage you to step out of your comfort food zones?

What is Gizdodo?

Gizdodo is a popular dish in Nigerian homes and parties. Usually, it is served with rice dishes. It can also be served as ‘small chops’, a snack or starter at Nigerian parties. When I went to Lagos in 2017 to do research for my Master’s thesis, that was the first time I remember having gizdodo. My auntie made it for me. It was delicious! Whenever I went out to eat in Lagos, I made sure to have it. Who wouldn’t love it? A sweet combination of one of the most delicious parts of chicken and fried plantain! If you haven’t heard of Gizdodo, don’t worry I’ve got you. I’ve played around with different cooking methods to perfect my version of the dish and here is how I cook it.

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe plantains
• 500g of chicken gizzard
• A can of diced tomatoes (1kg)
• 1 big red bell pepper diced
• 1 large onion diced
• 1/2 onion sliced
• 1 scotch bonnet
• 1/2 yellow or orange and green bell pepper chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic diced or minced
• I/2 tablespoon of minced ginger
• Tomato purée
• 1 Maggi cube
• Curry powder
• White pepper powder
• Aromat powder
• 1 boullion cube
• 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• A pinch of salt

Timing

Cooking time: 2 hours

Preparation time : 30 minutes

Clean Up time: 30 minutes *Clean up as you cook is my favourite method.

Directions:

The Preparation of Gizdodo

1. If you have a blender, blend the canned tomatoes, the red bell pepper, the large onion, the scotch bonnet and the cloves of garlic to a smooth paste.
2. If you don’t have a blender, on medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, the red bell pepper, the larger onion and the cloves of garlic and liquify in the large pot.
3. First, wash the gizzard with lemon and water throughly and chop into small bite sizes.
4. Next, place the gizzard, the minced ginger, the sliced onions and the bouillon cube into a pot covered with water. Cook until tender.

The Cooking of Gizdodo

1. Dice your plantains and leave to the side.
2. If you used a blender, add the extra virgin olive oil, the blended paste and half of the seasonings into a pot on medium heat and half of the seasonings.
3. Then, add tomato purée and cover the pot until the oil rises to the top.
4. If you didn’t use a blender, add the canned diced tomato, the tomato. purée, and half of the seasonings to the pot. Mix well and cook until the oil rises to the top.
5. After 15 minutes, add the Maggi cube and cook for another 10 minutes.
6. Then, in an air fryer or in a large frying pan, fry the diced plantain until it is a golden colour.
7. Set the plantain aside once done.
8. Pour out the excess water from the gizzard. Pour out the excess oil from the large frying pan.
9. Add the rest of the onion, the chopped yellow or orange bell pepper into the large frying pan. Sauté the vegetables lightly.
10. Add the gizzard and plantain to the large frying pan and cook gently for 3 minutes.
11. Gently, stir in 2/3 of the cooked stew to combine all the ingredients
12. Lastly, cook for 3 minutes, then turn off the cooker. Leave it to simmer for 2-3 minutes.
13. Serve the Gizdodo and use the remaining green bell pepper to garnish

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This is one of my favourite recipes to make and I had so much fun cooking it last week. More recipes will be coming to the blog especially the dishes that I showed in my Instagram reel. Please feel free to share with your friends and family. Don’t forget to like and subscribe to the blog for more fitness, health, lifestyle and wellness content.

Until next time,

Folakemi