Nigerian food: discover traditional cuisine

TUWO SHINKAFA – soft, thick pudding made from rice flour or mashed rice, often paired with soups like miyan kuka (baobab leaf soup) or egusi (melon seed soup).

OFADA RICE – a local rice variety often served with a spicy sauce.

OGI/AKAMU/PAP – a fermented cereal pudding made from maize, millet, or sorghum, served hot with sugar and milk or alongside akara (fried bean cakes). A common breakfast dish or baby food.

MASA – a fermented rice or millet pancake, fluffy and slightly sweet, often served with soups or sauces.

EBA – a starchy swallow made from cassava flour (gari), often served with soups like okra or ogbono.

ACHA (FONIO) – a type of millet often prepared as a porridge or couscous-like dish.

DONKWA – a snack made from roasted corn and groundnuts, popular in northern Nigeria.

MOI MOI – a steamed bean pudding made from blended black-eyed peas, but sometimes includes ground maize or cornmeal.

AKARA – deep-fried bean cakes made from blended black-eyed peas and spices.

GBEGIRI SOUP – a smooth soup made from peeled black-eyed peas or brown beans, flavored with palm oil and spices.

EWA AGOYIN – mashed beans served with a spicy, caramelized pepper sauce. A popular street food in southwestern Nigeria.

EDIKANG IKONG – a nutritious soup made with fluted pumpkin leaves (ugu), waterleaf, and assorted meats or fish. A delicacy from the Efik and Ibibio people of southern Nigeria.

EWEDU SOUP – cooked and pureed jute leaves soup.

AMALA – a thick paste made from yam flour, often served with various soups.

DODO – is a side dish of plantains fried in vegetable or palm oil, preferably ripe plantain.

SUYA – skewered and grilled beef, goat, or chicken, coated in a spicy peanut-based seasoning, a popular street food.

PEPPER SOUP – a spicy, brothy soup made with goat meat, beef, chicken, or fish, flavored with local spices and herbs. This is one of the few soups in Nigerian cuisine that can be eaten alone and is not used as a sauce. Common at social gatherings or as a comfort food.

NKWOBI – a spicy dish made from cow foot, cooked in palm oil and flavored with spices and ugba (fermented oil bean seed).

ISIEWU – goat head cooked in a spicy palm oil sauce, garnished with fresh onions, served during celebrations.

KILISHI – thinly sliced, air-dried meat (similar to jerky) coated in a spicy seasoning, a Nigerian delicacy.

PEPPERED FISH – deep fried catfish or tilapia, deep fried and cooked in spicy tomato sauce, flavored with garlic, ginger and peppers.

EFO RIRO WITH FISH – leafy vegetable soup often prepared with smoked fish.

OBE EJA TUTU – fresh fish stew cooked in a spicy tomato-based sauce. Eaten with rice; okro soup and very hot amala.

FISHERMAN SOUP – a shoup of fish, prawns, and periwinkles, combined with palm oil, onions, garlic, and scotch bonnet peppers. Ground crayfish and uziza seeds are often used to add depth.

EGG SAUCE – a tomato-based stew with scrambled or lightly cooked eggs, seasoned with onions, peppers, curry, thyme, and oil. Commonly paired with yam, plantains, or bread for breakfast.

OGBONO SOUP –  rich, fatty, slimy soup made from ogbono seeds (ground African mango seeds), palm oil, assorted meats, and traditional spices.It can also be cooked with fish.

EGUSI SOUP – a rich soup made from ground melon seeds (egusi), cooked with leafy greens, palm oil, and assorted meats or fish. One of Nigeria’s most popular soups, often paired with swallow dishes like pounded yam.

PEANUT STEW – similar to groundnut soup but slightly thicker, often including chicken or beef for a rich, hearty meal.

KULIKULI – peanut crackers, made by roasting peanuts, grinding them into a paste, and then deep-frying or baking the paste into various shapes and sizes.

PUF PUF – deep-fried dough balls made from flour, sugar, and yeast, often flavored with nutmeg or vanilla. Sweet, fluffy, and slightly chewy.

CHIN CHIN – fried or baked snack made from flour, sugar, butter, and sometimes eggs, cut into small pieces.

COCONUT CANDY – a simple candy made by caramelizing grated coconut with sugar.

SHUKU SHUKU – a dessert made with sugar, egg yolks, flour, and coconut flakes.