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'Fast
food' is becoming more popular in Nigeria, but for the
most part, most people eat at home (or at a friend's).
I'm not sure about other cultures, but in mine, when you
cook, you don't cook for just you and your family, you
also cook for anyone who may stop by.
I do not know how much of the foods and drinks listed
below are enjoyed outside of the Yoruba culture. One of
my
future goals is to have
food from other cultures on here, but I would need
help with that. (For
instance, what is "okpa"?)
Of
course, the below is not an all-inclusive list of the
foods that are available now, or even those that were
available the last time I was there...it is just to give
an idea of some of the foods available.
For meats, we have goat, cow, chicken, turkey, geese,
guinea fowls, pigeon, fish, shrimp, crab, other
seafood...
For fruits and vegetables, we have oranges, bananas,
pineapples, tangerines, carrots, watermelons, guava,
melons, limes, grape fruits, mangos, apple (NOT like an
American apple though...they are tinier, and pink and
white in color), peppers, tomatoes, onions, peas, and
many other things.
A popular oil used for cooking is called palm oil,
which is a reddish colored oil made from ground palm
kernels.
The table below shows some of the meals and how they are
prepared, and some of the ways that they are eaten.
Please note that
-
I try to use the names they are
called in Nigeria minus the
accents.
-
remember the
alphabet? Well,
since I don't want to draw up all my words, in the
table below, e, o, and s will
stand for the letters with the dots under them (but
it might not be obvious if the title is also a
link).
-
different foods listed under
'eaten with' means it can be with any of those, it
does not necessarily mean it is eaten will ALL of
those, though in some situations, a combination may
be made.
-
this page describes the food. For
how to make them, visit the
recipes page, and
for where to buy them or eat them (restaurants,
etc.), visit the
buying & eating page.
FOOD
(click for recipe) |
WAYS PREPARED
(click for recipe) |
EATEN WITH
(click for description on
this page) |
|
obe
(soup) |
obe
ata (pepper soup):
thick sauce made by boiling ground tomatoes,
ground pepper, meat or fish, meat broth or fish
broth, onions, vegetable oil or palm oil, and
other spices. |
many many dishes |
|
efo
(vegetable soup):
similar to the above except that different types
of leaves are added to it. |
many many dishes |
|
obe
egusi (plain):
This is made by grinding melon seeds, and then
cooking it with the meat and spices. It usually
ends up being yellowish-orange in color. |
many many dishes |
|
obe
egusi (with efo):
Similar to the above except that different types
of leaves are added to it. |
many many dishes |
|
'soup extras': the following are
also soups that are usually eaten in addition to
pepper soup with the meals they are eaten with |
ewedu:
green leaves chopped up and boiled in water,
usually has a slippery texture. |
eba,
amala,
funfun, farina,
iyan... |
|
ila:
okra cut up into small pieces, and boiled in
water, also has a slippery texture. |
eba,
amala,
funfun, farina,
iyan... |
|
apon/ogbono:
made from boiling ground oro seeds in
water, also ends up having a slippery texture. |
eba,
amala,
funfun, farina,
iyan... |
|
iresi (rice) |
white:
rice cooked or steamed in water, then usually
covered with soup. |
beans,
plantains, meat, ... |
|
jollof rice:
rice cooked (or baked) with ground tomatoes,
peppers, sometimes meat and vegetables, other
spices, and comes out reddish in color. |
beans,
plantains, meat, ... |
|
fried rice:
rice cooked in oils, vegetables, meats, and
spices. |
beans,
plantains, meat, ... |
|
ewa (beans) |
regular:
the beans are cooked with ground tomatoes,
ground peppers, and spices. Sometimes cooked in
combination with maize, or rice, with or without
soup. |
rice,
plantains,
yams,
ogi, bread, ... |
|
moyin-moyin:
the beans are skinned and ground, then mixed
with ground tomatoes and ground peppers, meats,
vegetables, eggs and spices, then put in either
aluminum foil or aluminum cans, steamed in a
large pot, then taken out and cooled. |
alone, with
rice, or at breakfast time with
ogi |
|
akara:
the beans are skinned and ground, then mixed
with ground tomatoes and ground peppers and
spices, then fried in vegetable or palm oil |
usually eaten at breakfast time, sometimes with
ogi |
isu (yam - there
are at least three different kinds, the white
ones, the yellow ones, and the 'water yams'.
Note: this is NOT what
most Americans know as "yams".) |
boiled plain:
White or yellow yams are peeled, sliced up,
usually into pieces about 3 centimeters, and
boiled in water with salt |
vegetable oil, palm oil, eggs,
beans,
soup,... |
|
fried:
White or yellow yams are cut up into long thin
squares and fried in vegetable oil or palm oil. |
usually by itself or as a side in a meal |
|
ojoj
o: Water
yams are cut up and fried in vegetable oil or
palm oil. |
usually by itself or as a side in a meal |
|
asaro:
White or yellow yams are peeled, sliced, and
diced into small cubes, then cooked with ground
tomatoes, peppers, sometimes meat, other spices,
and comes out reddish in color. |
usually by itself |
|
ikokore:
It is similar to asaro but made with a
different type of yam called 'water yam' that is
softer in texture, and when cooked, usually
comes out more brownish in color. |
usually by itself |
|
iyan
(pounded yam): The yams are peeled, and ground
up on a mortar. Then this 'powder' is placed
into boiling water until it has a thick smooth
structure. Nowadays, you can bypass the
grounding stage by buying the 'pounded yam
flour', and putting this in boiling water to
make something which is close enough for some
people, but not for others. |
with
soup |
|
amala:
dish made from yams, but first, the yams are
ground and dried to form a powder. This powder
is then put into boiling water, and
stirred/beaten until it has a thick smooth
structure. The cooked product ends up being very
dark brown in color. |
with
soup |
|
ogede
(plaintain - those things that look like
bigger bananas) |
dodo:
sliced or diced plantains, fried in vegetable
oil (some like them yellow, some like them
brown) |
rice,
beans, eggs, by itself... |
|
boli:
plantains baked whole in the oven |
rice,
beans, eggs, by itself... |
|
gari
('grain' made from the root of the cassava
plant. This part is peeled, ground, soaked,
sieved, and then dried out) |
dried:
as is |
sprinkled over cooked
beans |
|
with water:
the gari soaked in water, sugar and/or milk
sometimes added if desired |
as a snack, or alongside with
beans. |
|
eba:
the gari is put in boiling water and
stirred/beat until it has a thick smooth
texture. |
with
soup. |
|
funfun |
dish also made from the cassava
plant. The plant is peeled, ground, , soaked
sieved, then put under a heavy material to get
all the moisture out of it, to form a powder.
Then, the funfun is made from putting this
powder in some boiling water, and
stirring/beating it until it has a thick smooth
texture. |
with
soup. |
|
maize (yellow corn) |
boiled:
the corn is still on the cob, and boiled in
water and salt |
|
|
roasted:
the corn is still on the cob, and it is roasted
in the oven, or on a grill until it is brown |
|
|
adalu:
the corn is off the cob, and boiled with beans |
usually covered with
pepper soup |
|
tuwo:
the corn is ground into a powder, then put in
boiling water and stirred/beat until it has a
thick smooth texture. |
with
soup. |
|
ogi:
dish made from corn. The corn is ground and
dried, and made into a powder. Then this powder
is placed in boiling water, and cooked until it
has a thin smooth structure. Nowadays, you may
be able to bypass the grinding stage and buy
powder than you can use to make ogi on a stove
or a microwave. |
usually at breakfast time, by itself, or with
beans, or with
akara, or with
moyin- moyin |
|
aadun:
the corn is ground, and mixed with ground red
pepper. Then oil is added, and it is put in
ewe (those green leaves that things can be
cooked in) and cooked or baked. It ends up being
very spicy (hot) in nature. |
as a snack |
|
kokoro:
the corn is ground, then mixed with some
ingredients, then rolled into long (about 30 cm)
thin (about 1 cm) sticks and fried in vegetable
oil. |
as a snack |
|
suya |
Pieces of meat are spiced up, and
then baked over a grill on a stick with
vegetables (like kabob, but it's usually much
hotter) |
As a snack, or as the side to a meal. |
|
puff-puff |
snack made from deep frying a
dough mixture into circular balls |
as a snack, sometimes dipped in sugar |
|
sausage rolls |
cooked sausage is rolled up in a
pastry, and baked in the oven. |
as a snack |
|
meat pies |
seasoned meat, potatoes, and
other vegetables and placed in a pastry, and the
whole thing is baked. |
as a snack |
|
chin chin |
Some dough is kneaded, then
rolled flat, then cut up into small squares, and
fried in oil. |
as a snack |
|
scotch eggs |
a mixture of some ingredients are
put together, and then hard-boiled eggs are
rolled up into them, and the eggs are baked. |
as a snack |
|
groundnuts |
shelled peanuts (as called in
America anyway) |
raw, or boiled in salt water, or roasted (eaten
after the shells are removed of course) |
|
other nuts |
cashews, pecans, and others |
|
Here are descriptions of "Cola Nuts" and their
symbolism (in the appropriate ethnic groups) as
explained by a visitor:
Cola nuts: Some colanuts have two
carpsels, some three, some four some five, and
some six which is the highest number of carpsels
they can have. Usually we use the one with four
carpsels. It is the one with four carpsels that
are most usable. They are used for both good and
bad medicines. By introducing them to the child,
we pray for the child not to use it negatively
against anybody neither will anybody use it
negatively against him.
Bitter cola: This has the same reason as
the colanut above.
Obi is used to symbolizes long life in a
marriage. It is wishing the couple a long life
together. It is broken and passed around to all
the well-wishers present for the ceremony.
Everyone takes a small bite. |
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