Fry fry

Name: Fry fry
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients: 800 g potatoes, in thick chips; salt; 4 ripe plantains, sliced thick; 300 g black-eyed beans, soaked and peeled; 1 onion, chopped; 2 chillies; 1 teaspoon salt; 500 g white fish, minced; 1 onion, grated; 2 tablespoons plain flour; 1 egg; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 1 stock cube; salt; 2 onions, sliced; 3 tomatoes, chopped; 2 tablespoons tomato paste; 3 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 chillies, chopped; 2 stock cubes; 400 ml water; 3 tablespoons oil; black pepper; oil, for deep frying

Makes 6 servings

Units

Ingredients

Fried potato

800 gpotatoes, in thick chips
salt

Fried plantain

4ripe plantains, sliced thick

Bean akara

300 gblack-eyed beans, soaked and peeled
1onion, chopped
2chillies
1 teaspoonsalt

Fish balls

500 gwhite fish, minced
1onion, grated
2 tablespoonsplain flour
1egg
1 teaspoonblack pepper
1stock cube
salt

Gravy

2onions, sliced
3tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoonstomato paste
3garlic cloves, crushed
2chillies, chopped
2stock cubes
400 mlwater
3 tablespoonsoil
black pepper

To fry

oil, for deep frying

Directions

Fry fry is a plate of assorted fried things with gravy. The gravy is thin and strongly seasoned. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan. Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Add the garlic and the chillies.
Cook them for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add the water and the stock cubes. Season it well with black pepper. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. It should stay pourable rather than thick.
Keep the gravy hot until serving. Soak the black-eyed beans overnight. Rub them between your hands to loosen the skins. That peeling takes real patience. Blend the peeled beans with the onion and chillies. Add as little water as you can. Beat the blended paste hard with a spoon.
Beat it for a good five minutes. Season it with salt at the end. Mince the fish finely, checking for bones. Mix the fish with the grated onion. Add the flour, egg and black pepper.
Crumble in the stock cube as well. Season the mixture well with salt. Work it together into a firm mixture. Roll it into small even balls. Peel the potatoes and cut thick chips. Rinse them and dry them thoroughly. Peel the plantains and slice them thick. The plantains should be ripe and yellow.
Pour oil into a deep pan to eight centimetres. Never fill a pan more than halfway with oil. Heat the oil to about 175C for frying. Fry each thing separately in batches. Do not crowd the pan at any point. Keep each batch warm as it comes out. Frying the potato takes the longest. Fry the chips for about eight minutes. They should be golden and cooked through.
Salt them as soon as they come out. Fry the slices for about three minutes. Turn them over as they colour. They should be deep golden at the edges. Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the oil. They should puff up immediately. Fry them for about four minutes.
Turn them over as they colour. They should be deep golden and hollow-sounding. Break one open to check the first batch. The inside should be cooked and airy.
Fry them for about five minutes. Turn them over as they colour. Fish must be cooked right through. Break one open from the first batch. There should be no translucent centre. Lift everything onto a wire rack. A rack keeps things crisp on all sides.
Keep them warm until the plate is built. Serving it is done strictly to order. Lay out all the fried things on a tray. Let each person choose what they want. Pile the chosen pieces on a plate. Ladle hot gravy generously over everything. It goes soft once the gravy soaks in.

Technique

The fried things sit out on a tray and the customer points at what they want, each piece counted and priced separately, so the plate is built to order and suits any budget.
There is no fixed list of what goes on it, since every stand fries a slightly different selection, and the idea is the assortment rather than the items.
The akara batter must be beaten hard for several minutes to whip air into it, since unbeaten batter fries dense and heavy.

Substitutions

Any combination of fried potato, plantain, fritters and fish works.
Ready-peeled black-eyed bean flour is sold for akara and saves the peeling.

Variations

Some stands fry meat, egg or cassava alongside the usual items.
The gravy varies from stand to stand in heat and thickness.
Akara is fried and eaten on its own across West Africa.

History

Sold from stands and cookery shops in Freetown, a mixed fried assortment ordered by the piece with gravy poured over.

Frequently asked questions

What is Fry fry?

Fry fry is a street food from Sierra Leone: plate of fried potato, plantain, bean akara and fish balls with gravy. Sold from stands and cookery shops in Freetown, a mixed fried assortment ordered by the piece with gravy poured over.

How long does Fry fry take to make?

Fry fry takes 45 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Fry fry?

Yes, within limits. Any combination of fried potato, plantain, fritters and fish works. Ready-peeled black-eyed bean flour is sold for akara and saves the peeling.

What is the most important thing to get right in Fry fry?

Cook them for a good two minutes. Stir the tomato paste in as well. Fry it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Cook them down for about eight minutes. Add the water and the stock cubes. Season it well with black pepper. Let it simmer for about fifteen minutes. It should stay pourable rather than thick.