Food of Life
March 13, 2008 Food No CommentsFLAVOURS OF NIGERIA
The reason I say Food of life is because we all need to eat food and drink to survive, but not all food and drink is enjoyable and full of taste and flavour as others.
Nigeria is a country full of diverse people, languages, cultures and traditions, but one thing every Nigerian has in common is their pride in their heritage and their Love of Food among other things.
Some Classic Mouth watering Dishes include:
Plantane, (Dodo) a large Banana Fried and served as a accompliment to Rice dishes, and other dishes, I eat Plantane with almost everything.
Pepper Soup, there are many variation depending on where you live in Nigeria, the basis of the Dish is, Palm Oil, Tomatoes, Onions, chillies Peppers and Meat or Fish, and seasoning including Dried Crayfish, Maggie Cubes (Just Like Oxo Cubes) Salted Fish and Stock Fish. The Soup is eaten with Rice among other things.
- Egusi Soup, The basis of this is ground Egusi, which is Dried Melon seeds that are ground into a powder, Similar ingredients are used as with pepper soup but no tomatoes, the soup is usually eaten with Ground rice or pounded yam.
- FuFu is made from cassava, Cassava is of the same family of potatoes and yam, FuFu is made from cooked Pounded Cassava and is also eaten in the same way as Ground Rice and Pounded Yam
- Pounded Yam is made from Grounded Yam, Which is similar to potatoes, but much bigger and is tastier and is eaten in the same way as ground rice.
- Gound Rice, this is rice grounded into a powder, it is cooked by heating water in a pan, then adding the ground rice, when the mixture is a thick dough like consistency, more hot water is added, and the lid placed over the pot, when the water has boiled off the mixture is stirred and placed on a dish and is ready to eat, it is best to eat ground rice with your hands and traditionally ground rice is swallowed without chewing it.
Suya, this is beef, lamb chicken or other meats, it is prepared by skewering the meat and seasoning it with pepper, ground crayfish, salt, pepper and other seasonings then cooking the meat over an open fire like a BBQ, One the meat is cooked it is cut off the skewers and served with Fresh Cut up Tomatoes and raw onions and sprinkled with Powdered pepper and seasonings.
- Moi Moi, this is a dish made from ground beans base and added to this is ground chillies pepper and other seasoning and fish, chicken or other meat, the mixture is placed in containers or sometimes a cone of banana leafs and steamed. Moi Moi can be eaten by itself or with other rice or soups.
Jalof Rice, This is a spicy tomatoes based rice dish that can sometimes also have chicken, beef or lamb added to it, the rice is partly cooked then a liquidized tomatoes and chillies are added as well as the meat or fish, the rice is cooked until tender, this dish can be eaten with fried chicken, plantain, beef, Fish or anything you like.
These are only a few of the amazing dishes on offer from Nigeria and they are some of my favorites, It would take a whole library to list all the dishes on offer but these give you an idea of the flavours of Nigeria. Some of the other great dishes are: Gari or Iba is another accompliment made from Cassava Flour, Amala made from Yam Flour, Okra Soup a meat or fish based soup made with Okra, Bitter Leaf Soup (Ofe Onugbu), Vegetable Soup made fro Spinach and green vegetables.
If your mouth is watering, don’t worry, there are many Nigerian Restaurants no matter where you travel to in world or where you live, and if your adventurous you an try to cook one of the dishes at home, start with plantane, anyone can fry a plantane and they are tasty with anything, from rice, potatoes to eggs and beans. Or if you have the opportunity to visit one of the many Cities in Nigeria, many 3 4 5 Star Hotels, Bed and Breakfasts, Guest houses, Backpackers Youth Hostels and Hostels Accommodations have authentic Nigerian Restaurants on site, serving from Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa Dishes. If your not into Nigerian food don’t worry, you can choose from international cuisine too.