50 Traditional Foods In Nigeria, Their Ethnic or Tribal Origin And How To Prepare Them
1. JOLLOF RICE
Origin: Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa (now national)
Jollof rice is a beloved Nigerian dish made with rice, tomatoes, pepper, onions, and various spices. It is often served with fried plantains, salad, and meat or fish.
2. POUNDED YAM AND EGUSI SOUP
Origin: Yoruba
Pounded yam is made by pounding boiled yam until smooth. It is traditionally eaten with Egusi soup, which is made from melon seeds, spinach, meat, and spices.
3. OGBONO SOUP
Origin: Igbo
Ogbono soup is made from wild mango seeds and is typically thick and slippery. It is commonly eaten with fufu or pounded yam.
4. TUWO SHINKAFA
Origin: Hausa
Tuwo Shinkafa is a thick rice pudding usually served with Northern soups like Miyan Kuka or Miyan Taushe.
5. AFANG SOUP
Origin: Efik/Ibibio
Made with afang (wild spinach) and water leaves, Afang soup is rich with meats, snails, fish, and periwinkle, usually served with fufu.
6. BANGA SOUP
Origin: Urhobo
This soup is made from palm nut extract and cooked with fish, meat, and spices. It is usually served with starch or fufu.
7. EDIKANG IKONG
Origin: Efik
A highly nutritious vegetable soup made with waterleaf and fluted pumpkin leaves, cooked with assorted meat and fish.
8. MOI MOI
Origin: Yoruba
Moi Moi is a steamed bean pudding made from blended peeled beans, pepper, onions, and oil. It is served as a side or main dish.
9. OKRA SOUP (ILA ALASEPO)
Origin: Yoruba
This slimy soup made from okra is often prepared with palm oil, meat, fish, and vegetables, and eaten with amala or fufu.
10. SUYA
Origin: Hausa
Suya is a spicy meat skewer, usually beef, grilled over open flames and coated with a dry pepper-spice mix known as yaji.
11. OFE NSALA (WHITE SOUP)
Origin: Igbo
This is a white pepper soup made without palm oil, commonly served with pounded yam and made with fresh fish or chicken.
12. AKPU (CASSAVA FUFU)
Origin: Igbo
Akpu is a fermented and processed cassava paste pounded into a smooth dough, served with various traditional soups.
13. EWA AGOYIN
Origin: Yoruba
A popular street food made with soft mashed beans and spicy, oily pepper sauce, often eaten with agege bread.
14. IKOKORE (WATER YAM PORRIDGE)
Origin: Ijebu (Yoruba subgroup)
This dish is made from grated water yam, cooked with palm oil, pepper, fish, and spices.
15. GBEGIRI SOUP
Origin: Yoruba
Gbegiri is a soup made from peeled beans, blended and cooked into a smooth paste. It’s usually combined with ewedu and stew.
16. EWEDU SOUP
Origin: Yoruba
This soup is made from jute leaves and is usually served with amala and gbegiri.
17. OFE ONUGBU (BITTERLEAF SOUP)
Origin: Igbo
Made with washed bitterleaf, cocoyam paste, and palm oil, this soup includes assorted meats and is served with fufu.
18. KUNU
Origin: Hausa
A local non-alcoholic drink made from grains like millet, sorghum, or maize, blended with sweeteners and spices.
19. OHA SOUP
Origin: Igbo
This soup is made with oha leaves, a native vegetable, and thickened with cocoyam or ofor.
20. FISH PEPPER SOUP
Origin: Niger Delta
A spicy broth made with fresh fish, spices, and local herbs, often served at events and as a recovery meal.
21. AMALA
Origin: Yoruba
Made from yam flour or plantain flour, amala is a dark swallow meal often served with ewedu or gbegiri soup.
22. BOLI (ROASTED PLANTAIN)
Origin: Yoruba
Roasted plantain often served with groundnut or pepper sauce, popularly sold by street vendors.
23. ZOBO DRINK
Origin: Hausa
Made from dried hibiscus petals, this drink is often sweetened and flavored with pineapple, ginger, and cloves.
24. OKPA
Origin: Enugu (Igbo)
Okpa is a steamed pudding made from Bambara nut flour, often eaten as a quick, protein-rich snack.
25. STARCH AND OWHO SOUP
Origin: Urhobo/Itsekiri
Starch is a yellow, elastic swallow eaten with Owho soup, a unique palm oil-rich soup made with potash and meats.
26. MOIN-MOIN ELEWE
Origin: Yoruba
A variation of Moi Moi cooked in banana or Uma leaves, giving it a rich aroma.
27. NKOWBI
Origin: Igbo
A spicy cow foot delicacy seasoned with palm oil, ugba, pepper, and onions.
28. ISIEWU
Origin: Igbo
A goat head dish cooked and seasoned in a spicy palm oil sauce, served at special occasions and bars.
29. OFE AKWUKWU (PALM NUT SOUP)
Origin: Igbo
This is the Igbo version of Banga soup, using palm fruit extract cooked with meat or fish.
30. BEANS AND PLANTAIN PORRIDGE
Origin: Yoruba
A one-pot dish of beans, ripe plantains, and palm oil, loved for its taste and nutrition.
31. DAN WAKE (DUMPLINGS)
Origin: Hausa
These are flour-and-bean-based dumplings served with pepper sauce and vegetables.
32. YAM PORRIDGE (ASARO)
Origin: Yoruba
Yam is cooked with palm oil, pepper, onions, and seasoning until soft and rich.
33. GBODO AND FISH STEW
Origin: Yoruba
Dried yam chips (gbodo) are soaked and served with peppery fish stew.
34. ACHARA SOUP
Origin: Abia (Igbo)
Acharas (elephant grass stems) are used in this traditional soup often prepared with akpuruakpu egusi (moulded melon).
35. TUWO MASARA
Origin: Hausa
A corn flour-based swallow meal, commonly eaten with Miyan Kuka or other Northern soups.
36. EGUSI IJEBU
Origin: Ijebu Yoruba
A watery egusi soup variant with ground melon seeds and no leafy vegetables.
37. MANGALA FISH AND PALM OIL SAUCE
Origin: Igbo
Dry mangala fish cooked in rich palm oil sauce, pepper, and onions, often served with yam or rice.
38. DODO IKIRE
Origin: Yoruba
Fried overripe plantain mashed and mixed with pepper, formed into balls and fried to a dark brown.
39. POUNDED PLANTAIN (FUFU)
Origin: Igbo/Yoruba
Unripe or ripe plantain is boiled and pounded into fufu, eaten with soups like ogbono or oha.
40. COCONUT RICE
Origin: Yoruba/Igbo
White rice cooked in coconut milk, often with spices, vegetables, and meat or fish.
41. YAM AND EGG SAUCE
Origin: Yoruba
Boiled yam slices served with scrambled eggs cooked in tomato and pepper sauce.
42. PEPPERED SNAIL
Origin: Yoruba/Igbo
A delicacy where snails are seasoned and cooked in hot pepper sauce, often served as appetizers.
43. MOIN-MOIN WITH EGG FILLING
Origin: Yoruba
A variant of Moi Moi that includes hardboiled egg slices inside for protein boost.
44. COW LEG PEPPER SOUP
Origin: Igbo
Soft cow leg boiled in pepper soup spices and herbs, served as a hearty, spicy delicacy.
45. UKWA (BREADFRUIT PORRIDGE)
Origin: Igbo
Ukwa is cooked breadfruit seasoned with pepper and palm oil, often considered a royal dish.
46. Miyan Kuka
Origin: Hausa
This soup is made from powdered baobab leaves and eaten with tuwo shinkafa.
47. NKWU OCHA (PALM WINE)
Origin: Igbo
A traditional drink tapped from palm trees, consumed at ceremonies and social gatherings.
48. ROASTED MAIZE AND PEAR (OKA NA UBE)
Origin: Igbo
A seasonal favorite where maize is roasted and eaten with African pear (ube).
49. COCONUT CANDY
Origin: Yoruba/Igbo
Made by cooking grated coconut with sugar until it becomes sticky and crunchy.
50. FURA DA NONO
Origin: Hausa/Fulani
Fura (millet dough balls) served in fermented cow milk (nono), very popular in the North.
