While most of it is traditional, some of the cuisine of Nigeria has been influenced by nations like Portugal, India, Persia, Great Britain, and those in North Africa. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spice

Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth. It may be used to flavour a dish or to hide other flavours...

s, herb

Herb

Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...

s in conjunction with palm oil

Palm oil

Palm oil, coconut oil and palm kernel oil are edible plant oils derived from the fruits of palm trees. Palm oil is extracted from the pulp of the fruit of the oil palm Elaeis guineensis; palm kernel oil is derived from the kernel of the oil palm and coconut oil is derived from the kernel of the...

 or groundnut oil

Peanut oil

Peanut oil is an organic material oil derived from peanuts, noted to have the aroma and taste of its parent legume....

 to create deeply-flavoured sauces and soups often made very hot with chili pepper

Chili pepper

Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...

s. Nigerian feasts are colourful and lavish, while aromatic market and roadside snacks cooked on barbecues or fried in oil are plentiful and varied.

Rice-based

• Coconut rice
  Coconut rice
  Coconut rice is a dish prepared by cooking white rice in coconut milk or coconut flakes.As both the coconut and the rice-plant are indigenous in places all-around the world, coconut rice too is found in many cultures throughout the world .- Colombia, Venezuela, Panama and Puerto Rico:Off the...
  
   is a rice dish made with coconut milk
  Coconut milk
  Coconut milk is the water that comes from the grated meat of a coconut. The colour and rich taste of the milk can be attributed to the high oil content. In many parts of the world, the term coconut milk is also used to refer to coconut water, the naturally occurring liquid found inside the hollow...
  
  .
• Jollof rice
  Jollof rice
  Jollof rice, also called 'Benachin' meaning one pot in the Wolof language, is a popular dish all over West Africa. It is thought to have originated in The Gambia but has since spread to the whole of West Africa, especially Nigeria and Ghana amongst members of the Wolof ethnic group.There are many...
  
   consists of rice
  Rice
  Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
  
  , tomato
  Tomato
  The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...
  
  es and tomato paste (sometimes), onion
  Onion
  The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...
  
  , salt
  Salt
  In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
  
  , sometimes oil, red pepper
  Capsicum
  Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Its species are native to the Americas where they have been cultivated for thousands of years, but they are now also cultivated worldwide, used as spices, vegetables, and medicines - and have become are a key element in...
  
  , other spices, and a variety of vegetables and meats, and can constitute a complete banquet on a plate. Jollof rice is generally spicy with some exceptions.
• Pate
  Pate
  Pate may refer to:* Pate , a Samoan percussion instrument* Pâté, a type of meat paste, terrine or pie* Pate, pâte, or paste, a term for the interior body of cheese, described by its texture, density, and color* Pâte à choux, a type of light pastry dough used especially to make filled pastries such...
  
  is made with ground dry corn or rice or acha
  Fonio
  Fonio is the term for cultivated grains in the Digitaria genus. These are notable in parts of West Africa and one species in India. The grains are very small.-White fonio :...
  
  . Mostly combined with vegetables (spinach
  Spinach
  Spinach is an edible flowering plant in the family of Amaranthaceae. It is native to central and southwestern Asia. It is an annual plant , which grows to a height of up to 30 cm. Spinach may survive over winter in temperate regions...
  
  ), tomatoes, onions, pepper, garden egg, locust beans, groundnut
  Peanut
  The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
  
  , biscuit bone and meats minces. It is common within northwestern Nigeria, like Kaduna
  Kaduna
  Kaduna is the state capital of Kaduna State in north-central Nigeria. The city, located on the Kaduna River, is a trade center and a major transportation hub for the surrounding agricultural areas with its rail and road junction. The population of Kaduna is at 760,084 as of the 2006 Nigerian census...
  
  , Nassarawa and Plateau
  Plateau
  In geology and earth science, a plateau , also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain. A highly eroded plateau is called a dissected plateau...
  
  .
• Tuwo masara is corn flour dish eaten also in the northern part of Nigeria.
• Tuwo shinkafa is a thick rice pudding usually eaten with "miyan kuka"( a musillaginous soup)and goat meat stew or miyan taushe, a pumpkin stew made with spinach, meat(usually goat or mutton)and smoked fish. It is primarily served in the northern part of the country.

Beans-based

• Akara
• Ewa aganyin
• Gbegiri(a bean based stew native to southwest nigeria)
• Moimoi

Meat

Meat is used in most Nigerian dishes.

• Suya
  Suya
  Suya, is a shish kebab like food popular in West Africa, originally from the Hausa people of northern Nigeria and Niger. Suya is generally made with skewered beef, fish, or chicken. The meat is rubbed-in with tankora, a dry spice mix containing powdered groundnuts, cayenne pepper, ginger, paprika...
  
   is a meat kebab
  Kebab
  Kebab is a wide variety of meat dishes originating in Middle East and later on adopted by the Middle East, and Asia Minor, and now found worldwide. In English, kebab with no qualification generally refers more specifically to shish kebab served on the skewer...
  
   coated with ground groundnut
  Peanut
  The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
  
  s (peanuts) and chili pepper
  Chili pepper
  Chili pepper is the fruit of plants from the genus Capsicum, members of the nightshade family, Solanaceae. The term in British English and in Australia, New Zealand, India, Malaysia and other Asian countries is just chilli without pepper.Chili peppers originated in the Americas...
  
   and other local spices. It is prepared barbecue
  Barbecue
  Barbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
  
   style on a stick. This is one of the most famous Nigerian delicacies and can be found within easy reach all over the country.

Soups and stews

• Banga soup is made from palm nuts and is eaten primarily in the midwestern part of Nigeria.
• Miyan kuka is also common among the Hausa people.
• Miyan yakuwa is a famous soup common to the Hausa
  Hausa people
  The Hausa are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. They are a Sahelian people chiefly located in northern Nigeria and southeastern Niger, but having significant numbers living in regions of Cameroon, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Chad and Sudan...
  
   people.
• Pepper soup is a light soup made from a mix of meat or fish and a mix of herbs and spices. This is one of the few soups in Nigerian cuisine that can be drunk alone and not as a sauce for a carbohydrate main dish such as fufu or pounded yam
  Yam (vegetable)
  Yam is the common name for some species in the genus Dioscorea . These are perennial herbaceous vines cultivated for the consumption of their starchy tubers in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania...
  
  .
• Afang is a vegetable soup which has its origin from the Efiks in the southeast of Nigeria.
• Corn soup
  Corn soup
  Corn soup is a soup traditionally made of corn It is normally made in corn producing areas of the world, however is now widespread due to greater corn distribution. The basic recipe is some type of soup base with corn added followed by whatever ingredients give it its distinct style...
  
  , also known locally as omi ukpoka, is made with ground dry corn and blended with smoked fish. It is common with afemai
  Afemai
  Afenmai or Afemai is an ethnic language of the group of people living in the northern part of Edo State south geopolitical zone of Nigeria....
  
   people mainly from Agenebode
  Agenebode
  Agenebode is a serene, water-side town located by the banks of the Niger River in Edo State,South South geo political zone of [Nigeria]. It is the headquarters of Etsako-East local council of Edo State and the traditional capital of Weppa Wanno Kingdom....
  
   in northern Edo state
  Edo State
  Edo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. Its capital is Benin City. It is bounded in the north and east by Kogi State, in the south by Delta State and in the west by Ondo State.-History:...
  
  .
• Draw soup
  Draw soup
  Draw soup is a soup popular in Nigeria. It is made, typically, from okra or pumpkin seeds. It gets its name from the thick nature of the broth; it draws out of the bowl when eaten with a spoon, or more typically, when eaten by dipping a small piece of pounded yam into it...
  
   (or okoroenyeribe) is made from okro or melon
  Melon
  thumb|200px|Various types of melonsThis list of melons includes members of the plant family Cucurbitaceae with edible, fleshy fruit e.g. gourds or cucurbits. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit...
  
   seeds cooked until they thicken.
• Efo soup or tabot stew is a stew made from leafy vegetables and tastes nice when eaten with fish. It is common among the Yorubas.
• Egusi soup
  Egusi
  Egusi seeds are the fat- and protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants. Authorities disagree whether the word is used more properly for the seeds of the colocynth, those of a particular large-seeded variety of the watermelon, or generically for those of any cucurbitaceous plant...
  
   is thickened with ground melon seeds and contains leaf vegetables, other vegetables, seasonings, and meat. It is often eaten with dishes like amala, pounded yam (iyan), fufu and more.
• Groundnut stew with groundnuts (peanuts), tomato and onion as the base, can be infinitely varied with chicken, beef or fish and different leaf vegetables for subtle flavours. Groundnut soup is made with ground dry groundnuts and vegetables, fish, meat local seasoning and palmoil. It is common amongst Etsakor people
  Etsakor people
  Etsakọ people are one of the major ethnic groups in Edo State, Nigeria. They presently occupy three local government areas of Edo State; these are Etsako East, Etsako West and Etsako Central, with Agenebode, Auchi, and...
  
   in Edo state
  Edo State
  Edo State is an inland state in central southern Nigeria. Its capital is Benin City. It is bounded in the north and east by Kogi State, in the south by Delta State and in the west by Ondo State.-History:...
  
  .
• Rice Stew, similar to Maafe
  Maafe
  Maafe , or Groundnut Stew, is a stew common to much of West Africa. It originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali...
  
  , is a stew made from goat, beef or chicken and cooked with a tomato, onions, peppers and groundnut- or peanut oil.
• Ogbono soup
  Ogbono soup
  Ogbono soup is a Nigerian dish made with ground ogbono seeds, with considerable local variation. Besides the seeds, water, and oil, it typically contains leaf vegetables, other vegetables, seasonings, and meat. Typical leaf vegetables include bitterleaf and celosia. Typical other vegetables...
  
   is made with ground ogbono seeds
  Irvingia
  Irvingia is a genus of African and Southeast Asian trees in the family Irvingiaceae, sometimes known by the common names wild mango, African mango, or bush mango...
  
  , with leaf vegetables, other vegetables, seasonings, and meat. Ogbono is also eaten with many dishes similar to pounded yam, amala, and more.

Side dishes

• Fried plantain (or dodo) is a side dish of plantain
  Plantain
  Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
  
  s fried in vegetable oil or palm oil. It is preferably ripe plantain.
• Funkaso
  Funkaso
  Funkaso is an Nigerian dish of millet pancakes containing millet, butter and sugar. It is served either as an accompaniment to a main meal or as a snack with honey or chutney.- External links :*...
  
  , millet pancakes
• Mosa
  MOSA
  MOSA is an effort by two projects, SharpOS and Ensemble OS, both aiming to create a C#-based, FOSS Operating system, to combine their resources.-Motivation:...
  
  , fermented corn, which is ground into a thick paste,fried and then sprinkled with sugar. It is an acquired taste. There is also an alternative made from very soft plantain which is mashed into a paste, mixed with dried black pepper, fried and then sprinkled with sugar, for those with a sweet tooth.

Puddings, pastes and porridge

• Moimoi
  Moin moin
  Moinmoin is a Nigerian steamed bean pudding made from a mixture of washed and peeled black-eyed beans, onions and fresh ground peppers . It is advisable not to add tomatoes as this prevents the ingredients from forming a gelatinous end product. It is a protein-rich food that is a staple in Nigeria...
  
   is a steamed bean pudding made from a mixture of washed and peeled black-eyed beans, onions and fresh black pepper
  Black pepper
  Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is approximately in diameter, dark red when fully mature, and, like all drupes, contains a single seed...
  
   wrapped in a moimoi leaf (like a banana leaf).

Yam-based

• Iyan called pounded yam in English, is similar to mashed potatoes but all mashed and completely smooth with no yam chunks left.
• Amala
  Amala (food)
  Àmàlà is a thick brown paste or porridge made from yam, which had been peeled, cleaned, dried and then blended into a flour. It is eaten in West Africa, primarily among the Yorùbá of Nigeria...
  
   (or aririguzofranca) is a thick paste made from yam, which had been peeled, cleaned, dried and then blended similar to iyan but normally darker(brown) in colour.

Cassava-based

• Eba
  Eba
  Ẹbà is a staple food eaten in West Africa, particularly in the Southern parts of Nigeria made from cassava flour, known in West Africa as gari....
  
  , also called gari is, like amala, a very thick paste that is either rolled into balls or served like amala, and made from cassava
  Cassava
  Cassava , also called yuca or manioc, a woody shrub of the Euphorbiaceae native to South America, is extensively cultivated as an annual crop in tropical and subtropical regions for its edible starchy tuberous root, a major source of carbohydrates...
  
   (manioc).
• Fufu
  Fufu
  Fufu, , is a staple snack of West and Central Africa. It is a thick paste usually made by boiling starchy root vegetables in water and pounding with a mortar and pestle until the desired consistency is reached...
  
  
• Lafun is basically like amala but much lighter in colour, and made from cassava. It is not to be confused with iyan and tastes and smells totally different from the yam-based "Iyan"

Snacks and sweets

• Chin chin
  Chin Chin
  Chin Chin is a fried snack popular in Nigeria and West Africa. It is a sweet, hard, donut-like baked or fried dough of wheat flour, eggs, and other customary baking items. Chin chin may also contain cowpeas. Many people also bake it with ground nutmeg for flavor. It is usually kneaded and cut into...
  
   is a fried sweet cookie made from wheat flour and eggs and can be made in different shapes and sizes.
• Puff puff
  Puff Puff
  Puff Puff is a traditional Nigerian recipe similar to a doughnut. It is known as bofrot or togbei in Ghana. Puff Puff dough batter consists of flour, yeast, sugar, butter, salt, water and eggs that is fried until golden brown on both sides...
  
  , a fried Nigerian doughnut.
• Akara, similar to the Latin dish acarajé
  Acarajé
  Acarajé is a dish made from peeled black-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried in dendê . It is found in Nigerian and Brazilian cuisine...
  
  , is a beignet
  Beignet
  A beignet in the U.S. is a pastry made from deep-fried dough, much like a doughnut, and sprinkled with confectioner's sugar, or frostings. Savory versions of beignets are also popular as an appetizer, with fillings such as maple or fruit preserves....
  
   from a dough based on black-eyed beans. It is sometimes served for breakfast.
• Alkaki, made from wheat and sugar paste
• Kuli-kuli
  Kuli-Kuli
  Kuli-kuli is a Hausa food that is primarily made from peanuts. It is a popular snack in Ghana and Nigeria. It is often eaten alone or with a mixture of garri, sugar and water popularly called "garri soakings". It is also eaten with kooko,fula, kamu; and is sometimes ground and put into salad.To...
  
  , made from ground peanuts
  Peanuts
  Peanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
  
  .
• Kokoro
  Kokoro (snack food)
  Kokoro is a common snack food in Nigeria. It is made from a paste of maize flour mixed with sugar and gari or yam flour and deep-fried....
  
   is a fried dry snack made from corn and garri (cassava). There are two different kinds.
• Meat pie
  Meat pie
  A meat pie is a savoury pie with a filling of meat and other savoury ingredients. Principally popular in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, meat pies differ from a pasty in the sense that a pasty is typically a more portable, on-the-go item, as opposed to a more conventional pie.-History:The...
  
   is a D-shaped pie with beef, potatoes, and optional pepper fillings.
• Sausage roll
  Sausage roll
  A Sausage Roll is a type of savoury convenience food commonly served at parties and available from bakeries and milk bars as a take-away food item...
  
  , meat blanketed with flavored dough.
• Scotch egg
  Scotch egg
  A Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in a sausage meat mixture, coated in breadcrumbs or rolled oats, and deep-fried...
  
  
• Wara
  WARA
  WARA may refer to:* Weighted average return on assets, the collective rates of return on the various types of tangible and intangible assets of a company* WARA , a radio station licensed to New Washington, Indiana, United States...
  
  , soft cottage cheese made from fresh cow milk.
• Plantain chips
• Coconut candy
  Coconut candy
  Coconut candy most commonly refers to the candy produced in Bến Tre province, Vietnam, made with coconut milk and coconut cream. The Ben Tre Province is nicknamed by Vietnamese as the "Land of Coconut" . The Vietnamese term for coconut candy is "kẹo dừa", with kẹo = candy and dừa = coconut...
  
  
• Dundun
  Dundun
  Dundun may refer to;*The Yoruba talking drum*Dunun, dundun, doundoun or djun-djun, a family of West African bass drums* Dunedin, the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand...
  
  , fried yam, fried either in palm oil or vegetable oil to which water is added when the oil is hot as it fries to soften the yam as it cooks.

Beverages

• Kunu
  Kunu
  Kunu is a popular drink consumed throughout Nigeria, mostly in the north. It is usually made from a grain such as millet or sorghum, although it can be made from maize as well...
  
   is a popular drink made of either millet
  Millet
  The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
  
  , sorghum
  Sorghum
  Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
  
   or maize
  Maize
  Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
  
  .
• Palm wine
  Palm wine
  Palm wine also called Palm Toddy also called "Kallu" written in Malayalam and கள்ளு in Tamil or simply Toddy is an alcoholic beverage created from the sap of various species of palm tree such as the palmyra, and coconut palms...
  
  , which may be distilled into ogogoro
  Ogogoro
  Ogogoro is a west African alcoholic drink, usually brewed locally. It is most popular in Nigeria, where it is known as the country's homebrew...
  
  .
• Zobo is a drink made of roselle
  Roselle (plant)
  The roselle is a species of Hibiscus native to the Old World tropics, used for the production of bast fibre and as an infusion. It is an annual or perennial herb or woody-based subshrub, growing to tall...
  
   juice. (the Yorubas call the white variety Isapa.)

Condiments

• Iru is fermented locust beans used as a condiment in cooking and is typically added to egusi soup and ogbono soup.

External links

Recipe for Nigerian FOOD