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Nigerian cuisine · Pepper, palm oil and a swallow clock: jollof arguments, suya and streetFood 88.

The dishes that carry Nigerian cuisine are the ones a market cook and a home kitchen would both recognise.

Eight signatures below explain the table to a first-time diner and to a grocer stocking the aisle.

Podium

Suya
Suya
Nigeria
2
Jollof rice
Jollof rice
Nigeria
1
Egusi soup
Egusi soup
Nigeria
3

The legends

1
Jollof rice from Nigeria Noahalorwu · CC BY-SA 4.0

Jollof rice

Nigeria · party / national

Tomato-pepper rice, a West African argument Nigeria fights with Ghana.

Story

Jollof rice is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
icon
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
2
Suya from Nigeria WhisperToMe · CC0

Suya

Nigeria · northern street

Spiced grilled meat, yaji pepper, a night-market craft.

Story

Suya is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
icon
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
3
Egusi soup from Nigeria Zz411 at English Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0

Egusi soup

Nigeria · swallow companion

Melon-seed stew with greens, eaten with fufu or eba.

Story

Egusi soup is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
4
Pounded yam from Nigeria Taoheedah · CC BY-SA 4.0

Pounded yam

Nigeria · swallow

The stretchy starch that makes stew a hand food.

Story

Pounded yam is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
5

Moi moi

Nigeria · steamed bean

Steamed bean pudding, a breakfast and party side.

Story

Moi moi is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
6
Pepper soup from Nigeria bob walker · CC BY-SA 2.0

Pepper soup

Nigeria · tonic stew

Light, hot, often fish or goat, a night and recovery bowl.

Story

Pepper soup is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
7
Akara from Nigeria AkinkuotuFunmi · CC BY-SA 4.0

Akara

Nigeria · street breakfast

Fried bean cakes, a morning market food.

Story

Akara is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative
8
Puff-puff from Nigeria Afrolems ; cropped by Off-shell · CC BY-SA 4.0

Puff-puff

Nigeria · fry snack

Fried dough balls of parties and streets.

Story

Puff-puff is cooked from Lagos to diaspora rooms as a reference plate of Nigerian cuisine.

“The pantry lesson is iru / ogiri / garri beside swallow / rice / yam.”

Reach
known
Craft
kitchen
Heat
relative

Stats are relative 0–100 marks within this cuisine, for comparison only.

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Debate

Home pot vs export icon

Does Jollof rice abroad still count as Nigerian cuisine when the pantry is rewritten?

Whose regional recipe?

Capitals claim Suya; provinces disagree, loudly.

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