Seychelles | Dessert

Ladob

Name: Ladob
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Seychelles, East Africa
Ingredients: 4 whole ripe plantains, peeled, halved; 2 whole sweet potatoes, peeled, chunked; 400 ml coconut milk; ½ cup sugar; 1 whole vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped; ¼ tsp nutmeg, grated; ¼ tsp salt; 1 cup water

Seychellois sweet ladob, ripe plantains and sweet potatoes simmered in coconut milk with vanilla, nutmeg, sugar, and salt.

Country

Seychelles

Region

East Africa

Time

45 min

Serves

Level

easy

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01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 4

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

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 4 servings

Dessert

Main

4 whole ripe plantains, peeled, halved 2 whole sweet potatoes, peeled, chunked 400 ml coconut milk ½ cup sugar 1 whole vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped [Sub: 1 tsp vanilla extract] ¼ tsp nutmeg, grated ¼ tsp salt 1 cup water

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Seychelles

5 steps 10 min prep 35 min cook (check method) 45 min total easy

Combine

Place coconut milk, water, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds, nutmeg, and salt in a pot. Bring to a gentle simmer.

Heat 05:00

Add Vegetables

Add sweet potato chunks first as they take longer to cook. Simmer until slightly softened.

Cook sweet potato 10:00

Add Plantains

Add plantain halves. Continue simmering gently until both are tender but still holding their shape.

Kitchen noteDo not stir too vigorously — you want the plantains and sweet potatoes to stay intact.

Simmer 15:00

Thicken

If sauce is too thin, gently remove fruit and reduce the coconut sauce until creamy. Return fruit.

Kitchen noteThe sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Serve

Serve warm in bowls with plenty of the vanilla coconut sauce spooned over. Remove vanilla pod before serving.

Kitchen noteLadob is equally delicious served cold the next day — the flavors deepen overnight.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for everyday meals. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 45 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Tea, grilled fish meal finish, coconut flakes, or fresh fruit

Follow the collection

Vegetarian Africa is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

Seychelles national table. A structured Seychelles dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

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.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Ladob recipe from Seychelles — Ladob finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Ladob

Tea, grilled fish meal finish, coconut flakes, or fresh fruit

Best route from here

Seychelles national table

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