Nigerian cuisine originates from the hundreds of native African ethnic groups that make up Nigeria, a country of 371 recognized ethnic groups each contributing its own cooking methods, ingredients and ceremonial food practice. The cuisine is known for being savory and spicy, using spices and herbs together with palm oil or groundnut oil to build deeply flavored sauces and soups, and its feasts range from elaborate ceremonial meals to abundant roadside snacks prepared by barbecue or frying. Native crops including yam, African rice, black eyed peas, millet, sorghum, okra and egusi sit alongside cassava and maize introduced through trade, and indigenous fruits such as the African star apple, African mango and garden egg remain important. Meals typically pair a carbohydrate base, rice, yam or potato, with a protein such as beef, goat, fish or chicken, in dishes including jollof rice, egusi and banga soups, pounded yam and asaro, and cassava preparations such as fufu and eba, with watermelon, pineapple, coconut, banana, orange, papaya and mango among the fruits that round out the diet.
Facts
Signature TechniqueSourced to the subject's own accountSpices and herbs are cooked with palm oil or groundnut oil to build deeply flavored sauces and soups, as in other West African cuisines. 1 Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own accountNigeria, home to hundreds of native African ethnic groups across West Africa. 1 Spice LevelSourced to the subject's own account FAQs
What oils give Nigerian sauces and soups their characteristic flavor?
Palm oil or groundnut oil.
Nigerian cooking builds its deeply flavored sauces and soups from spices and herbs cooked with palm oil or groundnut oil, a technique shared with other West African cuisines. Nigeria itself is home to hundreds of native African ethnic groups, each contributing its own cooking methods and ingredients.
Connections
Features Dish
Source Abacha (food) (Wikipedia)
Source Afang soup (Wikipedia)
Amala, Dishes Source Amala (food) (Wikipedia)
Source Atama soup (Wikipedia)
Source Dan wake (Wikipedia)
Source Draw soup (Wikipedia)
Source Edikang ikong (Wikipedia)
Source Efo Riro (Wikipedia)
Source Egbo (food) (Wikipedia)
Source Ewa aganyin (Wikipedia)
Source Gbegiri (Wikipedia)
Source Gizdodo (Wikipedia)
Source Isi ewu (Wikipedia)
Koko, Dishes Source Koko (millet porridge) (Wikipedia)
Source Kuli-kuli (Wikipedia)
Source Obe ata (Wikipedia)
Source Ofada rice (Wikipedia)
Source Ofe Nsala (Wikipedia)
Source Ofe_Oha (Wikipedia)
Source Ogbono soup - Wikipedia
Source Ogi (food) (Wikipedia)
Source Owo soup (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Palaver sauce
Source Palm nut soup - Wikipedia
Source Pottage - Wikipedia
Source Pounded yam (Wikipedia)
Source Puff-puff (Wikipedia)
Source Tuwon masara (Wikipedia)
Source Tuwon shinkafa (Wikipedia)
Uses Ingredient
Source Larousse Gastronomique
Source Larousse Gastronomique
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Nigerian Cuisine (Wikipedia)tier 3
Sources
1. Nigerian Cuisine (Wikipedia)
WikipediaIntroduction
Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm oil or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.
Lead
Nigerian cuisine, like many West African cuisines, is known for being savoury and spicy.
View the Source Afang soup (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Afang soup, Wikipedia summary extract, opening sentenceView the Source Larousse Gastronomique
Hamlyn, 2009- Uses Ingredient: Cassava, entry: Cassava
- Uses Ingredient: Palm Oil, entry: Palm Oil
Akara (Wikipedia)
Puff-puff (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia: Palaver sauce
Nkwobi (Wikipedia)
Pounded yam (Wikipedia)
Gbegiri (Wikipedia)
Asaro (Wikipedia)
Ekwang - Wikipedia
Pottage - Wikipedia
Atama soup (Wikipedia)
Kuli-kuli (Wikipedia)
Abacha (food) (Wikipedia)
Eba (Wikipedia)
Tuwon shinkafa (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Tuwon shinkafa, infobox national_cuisine fieldQuote, Features Dish: Tuwon shinkafa, infobox national_cuisine field
Nigerian cuisine
Owo soup (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Owo soup, LeadQuote, Features Dish: Owo soup, Lead
Oghwo evwri is a soup eaten in the south-central region of Nigeria.
Ofe_Oha (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ofe Oha, Lead sectionQuote, Features Dish: Ofe Oha, Lead section
is a traditional Igbo soup from south eastern part of Nigeria
Koose (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Koose, DistributionQuote, Features Dish: Koose, Distribution
Koose is common in West Africa among the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria
Draw soup (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Draw soup, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Draw soup, Lead paragraph
Draw soup is the pidgin english name of some soups in parts of Nigeria that are made from okra, ogbono (Irvingia gabonensis) or ewedu leaves (jute).
Okoho (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Okoho, Lead [in-cuisine]Quote, Features Dish: Okoho, Lead [in-cuisine]
Okoho is the main traditional food peculiar to the Idoma people of Benue State, Central Nigeria.
Tuwon masara (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Tuwon masara, Lead sentence 1 [in-cuisine]Quote, Features Dish: Tuwon masara, Lead sentence 1 [in-cuisine]
Tuwon masara is a Nigerian corn flour swallow
Obe ata (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Obe ata, LeadQuote, Features Dish: Obe ata, Lead
is a stew or sauce used in Yoruba cuisine and meals found in Nigeria, Benin and Togo.
Agidi (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Agidi, Lead [in-cuisine]Quote, Features Dish: Agidi, Lead [in-cuisine]
It is mostly popular among people of Southern and parts of Northern Nigeria.
Egbo (food) (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Egbo (food), Lead [in-cuisine]Quote, Features Dish: Egbo (food), Lead [in-cuisine]
Egbo is a popular Yoruba dish, especially among the people from Ibadan.
Efo Riro (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Efo Riro, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Efo Riro, lead paragraph
Efo riro (Yoruba: ẹ̀fọ́ riro) is a vegetable soup and a native soup of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria and other parts of Yorubaland.
Ogbono soup - Wikipedia
Features Dish: Ogbono Soup, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ogbono Soup, lead paragraph
Ogbono soup is a staple soup in Nigerian cuisine.
Koko (millet porridge) (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Koko, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Koko, lead paragraph
It is a popular Nigerian Ghanaian Togolese street food and commonly consumed as a breakfast meal.
Ofe Nsala (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ofe Nsala, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ofe Nsala, lead paragraph
Ofe Nsala , also known as white soup, and called nsala soup, is a delicacy that originates from the eastern part (Ala Igbo) of Nigeria.
Ogi (food) (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ogi (food), lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ogi (food), lead paragraph
Ogi, pap, eko, koko or akamu is a cereal pudding and street food in Nigeria, Benin and Togo., typically made from maize, sorghum, or millet.
Ofada rice (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ofada rice, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ofada rice, lead paragraph
Ofada rice is a Yoruba Nigerian dish.
Gizdodo (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Gizdodo, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Gizdodo, lead paragraph
Gizdodo is a Yoruba Nigerian delicacy made of gizzard and dodo (fried plantain); this is a side dish eaten at home, picnic or for special occasions.
Ewa aganyin (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ewa Aganyin, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ewa Aganyin, lead paragraph
Ewa aganyin (Yoruba) (also spelled as Ewa agoyin) is a Yoruba dish commonly eaten in Yorubaland across Togo, Nigeria and Benin.
Ekuru (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ekuru, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ekuru, lead paragraph
Ekuru is a cuisine native to the Yoruba people in Nigeria, Benin, Togo.
Dan wake (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Dan Wake, lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Dan Wake, lead paragraph
Danwake (dahn WAH-kay), also known as bean dumpling, is a dish of boiled cowpea flour dumplings from the northern part of Nigeria.
Edikang ikong (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Edikang ikong, Lead sectionQuote, Features Dish: Edikang ikong, Lead section
originated among the Efik people of Cross River State and Ibibio people of Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria
Palm nut soup - Wikipedia
Features Dish: Palm Nut Soup, Lead sectionQuote, Features Dish: Palm Nut Soup, Lead section
common in Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivory Coast
Isi ewu (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Isi ewu, Infobox: countryQuote, Features Dish: Isi ewu, Infobox: country
Nigeria
Amala (food) (Wikipedia)
WikipediaFeatures Dish: Amala, Lead sectionQuote, Features Dish: Amala, Lead section
originating from and popularized by the Yoruba ethnic group of southwestern Nigeria
Ukwa (Wikipedia)
Features Dish: Ukwa, Lead paragraphQuote, Features Dish: Ukwa, Lead paragraph
It is a traditional and respected food particularly amongst the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria.The seeds can be eaten fresh or roasted, but are most commonly prepared as a porridge cooked with Potash (ankawu), palm oil, and seasonings.
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