INGREDIENTS:Most of the ingredients used in this blog can be obtained in supermarks while some may only be found in African Food Shops. Where this is not available I have recommended alternative ingredients that can be used to achieve almost the same results.
Afang / Ukazi leaves (gnetum African)
Dark green Shiny foliage of the creeping afang plant cultivated mostly in Calabar and Igbo land are used a great deal in the cooking of these regions. It can be bought ready shredded from African food stores.
- Atama leaves / Beletientien
This is an annual Herb cultivated in the delta areas. It smells and taste like tarragon; usually used fresh or dried in Banga soup. Use dried leaves sparingly as flavor is more intense. Readily available from African food stores.
- Avocado (persea Americana)
Tropical fruit with thick warty skin usually greenish or purplish in color. The edible flesh inside surrounds a large oval shape seed. It is light yellow and soft when ripe. Avocados can be eaten on its own or cut in half and filled with cooked seafood (Avocado and prawn cocktail).
Black-eye beans or Brown beans have become indispensable in Nigeria cuisine because of it versatility in use. It requires overnight soaking before use for dishes like Akara Moin-mom and Gbegiri soup.
This is one of the most important food crops in Nigeria. Widely eaten on it's own or in fruit salads they make a good substitute for plantains. The leaves are usually used for wrapping foods such as Anyan-Ekpang or Ebiripo for steaming. Baking foil or greased parchment paper make adequate substitute but do not add the delicate flavour that banana leaves give.
A leafy green vegetable that is widely used in soups like Egusi for its bitter but sweet flavor. The fresh leaves is prepared like spinach and washed with salt; rubbing and squeezing to remove some of the bitterness before use. Can be bought fresh or ready washed and air-dried.
Chilli peppers are the fruit of Capsicum Frutescens plant with red orange or yellow pods which are very hot rich in Vitamin A & C and widely used in Nigerian cooking. While the flavor in the chilli lies in the flesh and skins much of the heat potency rests in the seeds and veins which can be removed. Green chillies are a lot hotter than the red ones. The active chemical con stituent is capiasin renowned for stimulating digestive process and helping to relieve heat fatigue in hot climates by inducing perspiration.
These are large green fruits which hang like lanterns from tress. Only edible when cooked and taste like boiled potatoes. It could also be fried as crisp.
- Cassava (Manihot esculenta)
Cassava is a tropical vegetable with a long tu berous root and dull green palmate leaves. Mature tubers have brown mottled skin with a white fibrous flesh. It can be cooked and eaten with coconut (Eberebe); but mostly used for making Gad (Cassava grains) and Fufu. Used as accompaniment to soups and stews. It can be bought ready made as gaff or cassava flour (Fufu).
Cocoyams are similar to large potatoes usually with a fibrous skin. In Nigeria the plant is grown for both it's tubers and leaves. The young and tender leaves are used in preparing Ekpang Nkukwo (cocoa-yam pottage). Spinach leaves make adequate substitute. These tubers can also be boiled roasted or fried.
Sweet corn or maize as it is commonly known is grown throughout Nigeria as a food source. The plant grows to a height of about seven feet.
When fully matured the swollen fruits are called cobs and it is these which are picked and used for food. The cobs can be boiled roasted or cooked with beans as a main course. A number of by products are obtained from the grains including Ogi (corn-starch) and corn oil which is low in saturates and cholesterol.
Smoked dried prawns or shrimps used for flavoring soups and savory dishes. Usually sold whole or grinded.
Egusi (cirullus colocynthis)
melon seedsSeed of the African melon fruit used in preparing Egusi soup. Should be grinded before use. Can be oily but adds a nutty flavor to the soup.
- Ewedu (corchorus olitorius)
Shiny green leave vegetable rich in Vitamins A C & D. Use in making sauces to accompany stews and enjoyed for its mucilaginous or viscous properties. Sold fresh or dried.
Dried powdered yam flour for making amala (cooked yam flour pudding).
fermented cassava dough usually served cooked to accompany soups.
Garden eggs (solanum melongena)
Also knows as African eggplant a member of the aubergine family. A round shiny green and yel low fruit with a slightly bitter taste. Garden eggs are eaten raw as a fruit or diced and added to stews.
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea)
Like a set of twins groundnut mature together in light coloured shells which are flaky and easy to break. Grown profusely in Northern Nigeria the seeds are harvested for their oil and protein. They can be eaten raw boiled roasted and pureed for making groundnut soup. Groundnut oil is used for cooking.
parkia biglobosaFermented locust or black beans. They have a slightly salty taste and a pungent smell. They are used as seasoning in soups. Usually sold fresh or dried packed
Usually added to food especially pulses during cooking for faster tenderisation and to increase the viscosity In Okro and Ewedu sauce. Also used for emulsifying oil and water in some traditional soups.
This kidney shaped fruit is pinkish or yellowish in colour. When fully ripe it is lusciously sweet and succulent with the golden flesh. Mango is common in fruit platters and salad.
Tiny yellow grains obtained from plant that looks like bull rushes with a maize like stalk. Grows widely in Northern Nigeria and used mostly for porridge and gruel.
These vegetables are curved seed pod up to 9 inches Long they are usually eaten cooked in soup and salads.
This seeds are obtained from the nuts of the African mango bush and air dried in the sun. It has a subtle aromatic flavor and it's very mucilaginous when cooked. Can be bought whole or powdered.
This is a fruit of woody herbaceous plant that looks like a tree. It is eaten ripe (yellow or orange in color) in fruit salads or stuffed for starters or main course.
A large member of the banana family plantain is less sweet than banana and is more versatile in use. It is often boiled toasted or fried and served with meat stews because the tissue has a starchy taste than sweet banana. It is best cooked with plenty of spices onions tomatoes and peppers (plantain pottage).
Ugwu (Pumpkin leaves) telfairi occidentallis
These trailing green leaves of the pumpkin plant rich in minerals and vitamins. Use in various soup preparations It is the chief ingredient in cooking Edikang Ikong soup. Fresh spinach can be used as substitute in any recipe if not available. Pumpkin seeds can also be eaten.
Utazi leaves (crongromena ratifolia)
This is a bitter tasting pale green leaf usually used for flavouring pepper soup. Very sparingly used. It can also be used as a substitute for bitter leaves.
Uzouza leaves or Ikong Etinkinrin
This sweet smelling aromatic and spicy pale green leaf vegetable is also used for flavoring soups especially (Ibaba soup).
The plant grows as a vine to height of six to eight feet. The edible tubers comes in various shapes and sizes; usually dark brown in color and hairy to the touch. The flesh is white or yellow and when cooked it has a pleasant flavor when cooked rather like potato. It is harvested in dry season with a gig feast known as Yam Festival in Igbo land. Yam still forms the staple diet of a large number of people in Nigeria. It is cooked in different ways including boiled roasted and fried. When pounded it is served as accompaniment to soups and stews.
Also known as guinea corn sorghum is cultivated mainly in Northern Nigeria. Used for porridge or pap (gruel).
These are large forest creatures covered with a hard shell. Taste rubbery when overcooked it is rather an acquired taste.
From a health stand point fats and oils are either saturated or unsaturated. Saturated oils such as butter coconut and palm oil are known to in crease the amount of cholesterol carried in the blood but since regional cuisine is characterized by the type of oil used lesser quantities or half the amount in a given recipe could always be used.
This is used for frying and also added to stews and other savory dishes. It has a pleasant and unobtrusive taste; favorable in making mayonnaise and could be heated to a high temperature without burning.
This oil pressed from the germ of germ of maize (corn) is high in poly unsaturated and low in cholesterol. It is used the same way as groundnut oil. It can also be heated to a high temperature without burning.
This rather tasty and nutty thick and waxy rustic red colored oil is extracted from the flesh of the oil-palm nut fruits. It is widely used in Nigerian cooking especially in the traditional soups and stews for color and taste but usually in small quantity as it is high insaturates.
Water leaf (talilum triangulare)
This is the most widely used of all green leaf vegetables. It is rich in iron calcium and vitamin A and C and it is best eaten lightly cooked in soups and stews. spinach can be used in recipes calling for waterleaf.
Leaves of the baobab tree usually sold dried in powder form and used for Kuka soup.
IGBO (garden egg leaves) solanum manocarpum
The young leaves of the garden egg plant. African Aubergines can be eaten raw in salads or cooked in stews.
This green leaf vegetable is much preferred in the making of Efo-riro. It taste like spinach.
This green is a close relative to Soko and is used interchangeable or in combination with it. It is widely grown in Western Nigeria
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