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Gonja (Fried Plantain)

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Contributed by: The BMC Teaching Kitchen

A bowl of deep fried gonja. Enjoy them with a cup of tea or your favorite soup

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Gonja is another quite popular delicacy enjoyed by many people in Uganda and many countries worldwide. Also known as plantain, gonja is also referred to as cooking bananas because it is generally used in cooking.

Gonja can be eaten ripe or unripe and is generally quite starchy. In many parts of Africa, plantains are often cooked as part of the main course or as a side dish. However, ripe plantains can also be eaten raw since their starches have been converted to sugars. They are different than bananas in that they are bigger and longer, are bright green when raw and turn yellow and then black as they ripen. Plantains also have thicker skins. 

The three most common forms of cooking gonja are to deep-fry, boil or steam and charcoal or oven broiled and we are looking at the deep-fried version. The versatility of this cooking banana is remarkable and with some creativity one can serve this vegetable as an appetizer, in soups like molokoni and a dessert.

Serves:
4 servings
Total Time:
30 minutes
Prep Time:
10 minutes
Cook Time:
20 minutes

Ingredients


Yellow_Plantain – 3, ripe, peeled, cut Cooking_Oil – 3 cups, canola or olive oil Salt – ½ teaspoon

Instructions

Step 1
Wash your yellow plantains well under running water.
Step 2
Slit – Using a sharp knife, cut both ends off the plantain. This will make it easy to grab the plantain’s skin. Slit a shallow line down the long seam of the cooking banana and peel the skin back from there.
Step 3
Diagonally Cut – Once the plantains are peeled, cut the plantains in diagonal pieces or medium-sized slices or you can cut them smaller (as desired) and set them aside.
Step 4
You can salt the plantains before or after you cook them although salting before cooking is better as the plantains are stickier when they're.
Step 5
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium. Test if oil is ready by carefully trying out a slice of plantain. Oil should bubble on contact before proceeding with the rest. If it doesn’t, wait another minute or two. If oil is too hot, remove from heat and wait for about 2 minutes before proceeding.
Step 6
Fry in batches until plantains have reached the desired color (golden brown), turning once, about 2-3 minutes per side. Then continue cooking, turning plantains occasionally until soft and deep golden brown for 5–10 minutes.
Step 7
Carefully remove plantains with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate or tray.
Step 8
Season with salt and/or cinnamon sugar, if desired, and enjoy a bite! Serve hot as a snack with tea or as a side with a bowl of Molokoni soup.

Notes

The most important ingredient, and one that is absolutely necessary to make fried plantains is plantains themselves.

You can buy these at most grocery stores and food markets. Plantains are also readily available at Asian and Hispanic grocers.

When buying plantains, look for the ripe ones. Note that yellow slightly going black is the best.

Nutrition Information

Serving Size:
1 serving
Calories:
218 Calories
Fat:
218
Carbohydrates:
Net Carb: 81.5
Protein:
3.5
Sodium:
403g