Are you planning to visit Nigeria, or are you already in Nigeria and looking for great Nigerian meals to try? You’ll find plenty of options beyond your imaginations. Nigeria is a multi-ethnic country, which means you can enjoy a wide variety of unique, delicious delicacies from the north to the South, East to the West. Here are 20 of the most popular Nigerian foods to get you started on your journey of tastes in this West African country.
Pounded YamPounded yam is arguably the most popular Nigerian dish and served with various soups like Egusi, Ogbono, Okra soup, Banga soups, and Vegetable soup. The widely available yam is first boiled, pounded into a smooth mash, then served with soup. Remember, that in other countries, it may not be easy to get raw yam and pound the yam yourself, but many food stores have yam flour, which tastes just like the original pounded yam.
1. Garri
Garri is eaten in every corner of Nigeria. It could pass as the king of all foods in the country. A popular joke in Nigeria about Garri is that “It needs no advertisement, yet sells more than products that are being advertised daily.”
Garri is prepared from fermented cassava tubers, which are washed and grated into a mash then fermented. It’s dried into a form of fine flour. Once Garri is mixed with hot water, it becomes a solid mass called “Eba,” served alongside soups and stews may often be eaten on its own as a snack with beans or groundnut.
2. Egusi Soup
This widely consumed soup is probably the most popular in the country, especially in the Eastern and Western regions of Nigeria. The soup incorporates melon seeds, any meat or poultry, a variety of green vegetables, onions, and palm oil. Most people serve Egusi alongside pounded yam, Garri, or Fufu (another cassava product)
3. Jollof Rice
One can find this bright-colored delicacy in most West African countries. The dish consists of tomatoes, onions, chilies, rice, and various spices and meat and vegetables. Making Jollof rice is often done on special occasions and social events.
4. Efo Riro
Efo Riro is a dish that mixes pumpkin leaves, meat such as chicken and offal, or smoked fish. Efo Riro originated in the Western part of the country. The green vegetables used in preparing the stew include water leaves or pumpkin leaves, and some add spinach to the ingredients.
5. Akara
Also known as fried bean cakes, Akara is quite popular in Nigeria, often taken as part of a breakfast meal with pap or Garri. While it is called Akara in the South, it is called Kosai in the north. Many roadside food vendors sell it, and it is very affordable. Most prepare it at home for family and friends by making a mash of soft, grounded beans and frying in oil.
6. Suya
Nigerians love this fried meat delicacy. Many vendors sell it on the streets in the evenings. Suya is made with meat (usually cow meat) that has been marinated with spices and then barbecued on a skewer. Some of the spices used include ginger, pepper, dried onions, and different stock flavors. Most people serve Suya with vegetables like cabbage and cucumber.
7. Afang Soup
Familiar with the Calabar people of southern Nigeria, this soup has local Afang leaves, water leaves, fish, meat, seafood, and seasonings in it. It is a green rich vegetable food and takes up to an hour to prepare and often served with pounded yam, Garri, or Fufu.
8. Moi Moi
Moi Moi is a steamed beans pudding that is boiled and sometimes includes eggs. It has its origins in South-Western, Nigeria. The bean pudding includes crayfish, onions, seasoning with egg, or sardine for an expanded taste. Moi Moi can be served with rice, Garri, or eaten alone as a snack.
9. Tuwo Shinkafa
A Hausa-based diet features mashed rice and goes side by side with many northern soups like Miyan Kuka, Miyan Karkashi, and even okra soup. It is mostly eaten in the north and served either for lunch or dinner.
10. Pepper Soup
Nigerians love pepper soup because of its intensely spicy flavor, variety of meats that are great on the body. The broth is hearty with aromatic spices, pepper, onions, ginger, garlic, and meats like goat meat, chicken, or fish for an unforgettable taste.
11. Nkwobi
Nkwobi is a popular delicacy of the Ibo’s and is prepared from cow leg meat spiced and marinated in a flavored sauce of leaves and palm oil. People also eat Nkwobi as a dessert while enjoying a nice African outing. Most Igbo kitchens in major cities in Nigeria make this soup.
12. Ewa Aganyin
Ewa Aganyin is a Yoruba-based food that features cooked beans and a pepper sauce. It is a delicious dish and offers the softness and sweetness of the beans and sauce. If you are a beans lover, you’d undoubtedly love Ewa Aganyin, and serve it with bread or yam.
13. Amala and Ewedu
Mostly eaten by the Yoruba people in the West, Amala and Ewedu soup is a classic Nigerian food, but other ethnic groups appreciate it. Amala is made out of yam, cassava, or unripened plantain flour. Yams are peeled, sliced, cleaned, dried, and then blended into a flour called elubo. Yams are white but turn brown when dried, giving àmàlà its color. Ewedu soup is the slimy green soup obtained from cooking the ewedu leaves; this plant’s English name is jute mallow with the botanical name Corchorus olitorius. Ewedu is valued for its low calorific content, which helps with weight loss and is eaten to strengthen the immune system, stress relief, and heart disease. Ewedu was noted as a folk remedy for aches and pains, dysentery, enteritis, fever, dysentery, pectoral problems, and tumors.
14. Ogbono Soup
Ogbono soup is a popular Nigerian food made with vegetable seeds known as “Ogbono” are ground and boiled for a thick, brownish-colored soup. The grounded seeds then cook in water, palm oil, then adding meat, fish, or chicken. Seasonings like chili pepper and leafy vegetables add to this very nutritious delicacy. Some types of leaf vegetables used include bitter leaf and pumpkin leaves, and in some cases, tomatoes and okra. This delightful soup is usually eaten with pounded yam or with Eba.