Nigeria | Street food

Boli

Nigerian roasted plantain served hot with groundnuts or a spicy pepper sauce.

Country
Nigeria
Region
West Africa
Time
40 min
Serves
4
Level
easy
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

Boli is the smell of Nigerian streets: plantain roasting over heat until charred, sweet, smoky, and soft. It can be as simple as groundnuts or as lively as pepper sauce.

What the dish tastes like

Nigerian roasted plantain served hot with groundnuts or a spicy pepper sauce.

When to cook it

Best for Best for street-food plates, snacks, lunch, or barbecue sides., with a easy cooking level and about 40 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Roasted groundnuts, pepper sauce, grilled fish, or avocado.

Regional lane

National party and street table. The foods that cross state lines: jollof, puff puff, pepper soup, boli, small chops, and shared celebration plates.

Chef watch-outs
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
  • Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.
  • Cooking on heat that is too high once the dish should be steaming or simmering.
How you know it is ready
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
  • Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.
  • The final texture should match the dish style before you plate it.
Pantry lane

palm oil, crayfish, iru or ogiri, scotch bonnet, melon seed

Chef board

Build the table around Boli

Roasted groundnuts, pepper sauce, grilled fish, or avocado.

Best route from here

National party and street table

Collections to keep cooking
Nigerian Regional Table West African Street Food
Servings 4

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Nigeria
4 steps 40 min total easy
1
Prepare plantains
Peel plantains and leave them whole or cut each in half crosswise.
prep 05:00
2
Roast
Roast over charcoal, grill, or hot oven, turning often until charred in spots and tender.
roast plantain 30:00
3
Make pepper sauce
Cook tomatoes, peppers, onion, oil, and salt until thick and glossy.
pepper sauce 15:00
4
Serve hot
Serve roasted plantain with groundnuts, pepper sauce, or grilled fish.
serve 02:00

In some southern cities, boli is paired with fish and pepper sauce. In simpler versions, roasted groundnuts do all the work.

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