Nigeria is a country deeply rooted and rich in culture, tradition, and, yes, food! Nigerian meals are vibrant and diverse just like the country’s various ethnic groups that make up the large population. You can enjoy a lot of meals from the spicy flavors of the north to the coastal cuisines of the south. There is something for everyone, regardless of your palate.
These cuisines reflect the Nigerian culture, traditions, values and social customs of the different ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. The preparation and consumption of some of these meals might vary based on the tribes preparing them, the dishes known to specific tribes are usually served to foster love in communities and pass down culinary culture to younger generations from the older generation.
In Nigeria, specific meals are served at specific gatherings, ceremonies, and festivals. These meals not only bring people together but also fully express warmth and hospitality. Some ingredients in Nigerian meals have cultural significance. For example, palm oil, which is used in many popular Nigerian meals, symbolizes prosperity and abundance.
Nigerian meals are prepared using techniques that have been used for many decades; hence, they are a way of preserving culture. These meals serve not only as sustenance but also embody community, tradition, identity, and culture within Nigeria’s vibrant tapestry. In this article, I will let you explore popular Nigerian dishes, and embedded in this article are some recipes to try.
Must-try Popular Nigerian Meals
In this part of the article, I will organize these exquisite Nigerian meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is imperative that you know that most Nigerian meals can be eaten at any time of the day, but for your convenience, here is authentic Nigerian food you can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Breakfast;
- Akara: This is made by deep-frying bean cakes. It is often served with pap ( ogi or akamu) or bread.
2. Moi Moi: A traditional food made from beans, different types of peppers, spices, and seasonings, it is made by blending peeled beans, onions, and peppers, almost similar to how akara is made. The pudding is then steamed until it is cooked. Both Akara and Moi Moi are very popular Nigerian cuisines.
3. Yam and Egg: This is made by boiling or frying yam and serving it after it is cooked with properly seasoned scrambled or fried eggs.
4. Plantain/ Yam porridge: This hearty dish is made from ripe or unripe plantain, seasoned, and mixed with palm oil to give you one of the best Nigerian meals. The addition of green leaves is optional; You can also make Yam porridge with similar steps.
Lunch or Dinner
- Jollof Rice: This is a one-pot dish cooked in properly seasoned tomato sauce, pepper, broth, seasoning, and spices with vegetables (optional) and meat or fish. The most popular Nigerian Food
2. Equsi Soup and Pounded Yam: This is a thick soup made with ground melon seeds, pumpkin leaf, palm oil, and a variety of fish and meat; the soup is then served with boiled yam that is pounded. Equsi can be served with other variations of swallow. The list of Nigerian soups cannot be complete without Egusi soup.
3. Efo Riro: This vegetable soup is made with spinach, lots of pepper, tomatoes, and assorted meat or protein. It can be enjoyed with any Nigerian stew or with rice. The Nigerian soups and stews list cannot be complete without Efo Riro.
4. Fried Rice: Nigerian fried rice consists of fresh vegetables fried and stirred into the rice. It is a healthy bowl with beef liver, carrots, green beans, sweet corn, peas, and other vegetables. You can add any protein of choice, like shrimp, chicken, or beef. Simple but insanely delicious Nigerian cuisine. This is another popular dish in Nigeria and is mostly eaten during the Christmas, Easter, and Sallah celebrations, and it is also served at wedding ceremonies
5. Pepper soup: This spicy broth is typically made with Catfish, other variations of fish, goat meat, or chicken simmered with aromatic spices like utazi leaves. This is how Nigerian pepper soup is made.
6. Rice and Stew: This delicacy comprises boiled rice and stew. The stew includes tenderly cooked beef or any other protein soaked in a delicious broth and tomato sauce. This pot of red stew is nutritious and rich. You can serve it with bread, white rice, couscous, and pasta. Many Nigerian restaurants always have this on their food menu. Additionally, this meal is eaten in most Nigerian households as either breakfast or lunch.
7. Nigerian Salad: This classic Nigerian salad recipe is a great choice. It is versatile and can be served as an appetizer, side dish, or main dish. It is a colourful bowl of nutritious and filling vegetables.
8. Ewedu: This unique soup made from jute leaves is popular in Nigeria and is made by the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria. It is easy to make and has a slimy texture to aid swallows like eba, amala, pounded yam, and semo. This green soup is rich and delicious. It is usually served with beans soup, beef, fish, or any variation of Red stew.
9. Banga soup: It is a soup made from palm nuts or palm kernels. The nut extract is combined with assorted protein, spice flavourings, and other African spices. This Nigerian soup is an exotic, famous, and nutritious meal.
10. Stewed beans: This is a staple food in Nigerian homes. It is really easy to make and super filling after eating it. It is usually served with garri, fresh bread, custard, pap, and fried plantain.
11. Ogono soup: This is another delight for your taste buds. It is made with ogbono seeds (wild mango seeds). The traditional soup is a thick, hearty stew featuring all meat and fish in one pot. In the eastern region of Nigeria, ogbono soup is cooked with a variety of fish. It can be eaten with any fish of choice.
12. Jollof Spaghetti (Pasta): This is not made with ready-made red stew. It is a one-pot stewed spaghetti recipe made with tomato paste, onions, vegetables (optional) vegetable oil, and pepper. You can stir your choice of protein and eat it for lunch or dinner. This is one of the must-try Nigerian dishes.
Popular Nigerian Snacks
Most Nigerian snacks are finger food, so be sure to keep your hands clean before you start eating these mouthwatering snacks. They are popular in many parts of the country and are very nutritious.
- Chin-Chin: A fried pastry usually chopped in small cubes, often flavoured with nutmeg or cinnamon.
2. Puff Puff: This is a deep-fried sweet dough balls enjoyed as snack, it’s dough consists of yeast and not baking powder. it is really tasty.
3. Boli: This roasted plantain is served with a special sauce sold by street vendors; it can also be eaten with groundnuts.
4. Suya: This is a snack especially popular in the northern part of the country and also popular across the country, it is grilled skewered meat coated in really spicy peanut sauce. An amazing Nigerian version of grilled meat.
5. Akara burger: This is akara between bread slices or burger buns.
6. Masa: These puffy rice pancakes are usually eaten as a snack street food. They can be served with seasoned ground pepper or masa soup.
7. Suya Wrap: This is suya wrapped in flattened bread. it is also known as the Nigerian sharwama.
8. Buns: This deep-fried dough, which consists of baking powder rather than yeast, gives you a crunchy taste and is simple to make.
9. Meat pie: This is a mix of flour, butter, salt, sugar, baking powder, and egg batter kneaded and filled with seasoned ground beef, carrots, and potatoes to make a comfortable snack. This light and flaky delicacy is one of the most popular pastries in Nigeria. You have to try a Nigerian type of meat pie. It will interest you to know that a similar nice snack is Fish pie, however, it is made without vegetables and potatoes.
10. Nigerian Egg Rolls: This snack features a boiled egg wrapped in a mass of flour dough and fried to form a ball-like shape. This is one of the Nigerian street foods that gives you the satisfaction you want. It can be served with cold juice.
11. Stick meat: This is fried beef on a stick. Enjoy chunks of fried meat arranged on sticks with bell peppers. It is a regular starter at Nigerian parties and other ceremonies and a colourful Nigerian snack.
Variations of Popular Nigerian Meals
Another intriguing thing about Nigerian meals is that they can be made in different variations. These variations stem from tribes cooking a particular dish differently from other tribes. Basically, the way the Igbo people of Eastern Nigeria cook porridge yam or plantain is completely different from the way the Hausa people of Northern Nigeria or the Yoruba people of Western Nigeria will. Here are a few popular Nigerian meals in different variations; they are all dishes you must try.
Jollof Rice
- Yoruba: Yoruba style of jollof rice may include additional spices like atarodo ( scotch bonnet pepper) and may be served with fried plantainor coleslaw.
- Igbo: the Igbo variation may have a richer tomato flavour, with additional loc al spices and possibly palm oil, the particular variation with palm oil is often called native rice.
Egusi Soup
- Igbo: Igbo style of cooking the soup has a thicker consistency and includes bitterleaf or utazi leaves.
- Yoruba: Yoruba style of cooking egusi uses spinach or ewedu leaves for a more soupy texture.
Suya
- Hausa: in Northern Nigeria, suya is made with thinly sliced beef or chicken, marinated in groundnut spice mix and grilled over open flame. The seasoning for this version has a stronger version of cayenne pepper, ginger and garlic
- The Yoruba: in Western Nigeria, they use different cuts of meat and other seasonings like paprika, pepper, or cloves.
Mot Moi
- The Igbo version of moi moi includes additional ingredients such as crayfish and palm oil for a richer flavour.
- The Yoruba version style is spicier and has a smoother texture.
Pepper Soup
- Igbo version of pepper soup is spicier and a wider variety of meats such as goat meat, cow tripe, and offal. pepper soup is a popular dish to try in Nigeria.
- The Yoruba style is milder and is cooked with additional ish or seafood such as catfish or tilapia.
Akara
- Hausa version of akara might include additional species such as cloves, cinnamon, and cumin for a more aromatic flavor.
- Yoruba style of making akara incorporates more onions and peppers for added heat and flavor.
- Pounded yam
- Igbo style serves pounded yam is traditionally served alongside soups like Ofe Oha/ Ora, or Onugbu (bitter leaf).
- Edo/Isoko/Urhobo, these tribes will serve pounded yam with Owo (okro) or Ewedu.
- Puff Puff
For those who like spicy foods, there is another variation of puff puff, called spicy Puff puff, it is made with less sugar, while pepper is added to it to make is more savory.
- Stew
The different Nigerian stew varies in different ways.
- The protein used to cook the stew, while the method and technique for cooking this stew is same for all types, the taste of the broth is what distinguishes them, the Chicken stew is made from the broth gotten from boiling the Chicken and seasoning it with Chicken seasonings. This leads to the different types like Turkey stew, Fish stew, Beef stews, etc.
- Another way nigerian stews vary is on how they are seasoned and the vegetables uses, for instance the type of Nigerian stew the Yorubas cook varies by vegetables, they added more amount of pepper as they might use it to eat ewedu soup. You can request for any type you’d prefer.
Activities Where Popular Nigerian Meals are Werved
There are various Nigerian events and activities in Nigeria where Popular Nigerian meals are served. Aside from the ceremonies like weddings and holiday festivals, here are a few events in Nigeria where the Nigerian food culture prevails because Nigerians go all out to prepare traditional dishes and create the perfect Nigerian diet.
- Lagos International Food and Drinks Festival, this is an annual event that showcases Nigeria’s variety of cuisines, including popular meals like jollof rice, suya, and pounded yam with equsi soup.
- Abuja Food Expo, this is an event held in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeeria, Abuja. It ranges of different dishes from different regions of the country, allowing visitors to explore traditional meals like Moi moi, akara, and pepper soup.
- Calabar Carnival, This carnival happens in Cross-River Calabar, it includes food fairs where attendees can enjoy traditional Nigerian delicacies such as banga soup, afang soup, and Edikang ikong.
- Eyo Festival, this festival is also held in Lagos, this particular festival offer more of street food and snacks, like Puff puff, boli, suya, etc.
Tips for those who want to try out Nigeria food
- If you love spicy food love you can try food like Suya, Jollof rice, Ewedu, and pepper soup, are just perfect for you, however, Nigerian Meals are very bold and spicy so be careful.
- If you are a vegetarian, don’t be scared, there are Nigerian meals that are just right for Vegetarians, meals like plantain porridge, yam porridge and beans based dishes like moi moi
- Ensure to communicate with the restaurant or dinner about your allergies I you have any, as you may not have full information about the detailed preparation of these meals.
- Ensure to always stay hydrated and aside water, Nigeria has you covered, here are few drinks that are made specially in Nigeria; Zobo ( cold hibiscus tea), and Kunu ( fermented millet drink), these drinks are lovely and taste amazing, it blends a lot flavors together and taste great!
- Embrace the hospitality in Nigeria, they so hospitable, and one way you do that is by eating their meals.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is most popular meal in Nigeria?
- The most popular meal in Nigeria is Nigerian Jollof rice, it is a Nigerian dish that is made by cooking parboiled rice in properly seasoned tomato sauce, Nigerian seasoning, with vegetable (optional) and meat or fish.
2. What food is mostly consumed in Nigeria?
- The most consumed foods in Nigeria include starchy foods / staple Nigerian foods like rice, yams, cassava, and plantains, often served as porridge or with soups and stews.
3. What are the top 5 traditional food in Nigeria?
- The top 5 traditional Nigerian dishes include:
- Jollof Rice
- Egusi Soup
- Suya
- Moi Moi
- Akara
4. What is the most delicious food in Nigeria?
- The most delicious Nigerian food varies based on personal preferences and food palate, however, most visitors enjoy Jollof Rice and Suya, they enjoy the flavor of both of them.
5. What Nigerian food should I try first?
- The first food that you should try first is Jollof rice, Jollof rice is popular in and widely available in every part of Nigeria.
6. What are some popular street foods in Nigeria?
- Some of the popular street foods are Suya, akara, roasted plantain (boli), and roasted corn.
7. Are there any vegetarian or Vegan Nigerian dishes?
- For vegetarians, dishes like Nigerian vegetable soup, Efo riro, Edikang Ikong, as well as Nigerian meals made with beans and plantain.
8. What are some traditional Nigerian desserts or sweet treats?
Traditional desserts and sweet treats include; Puff puff, chin-chin, and coconut candy.
9. How spicy are Nigerian dishes typically?
- Most Nigerian meals are spicy and most traditional recipes use variety of hot peppers and spices to flavor. However, the spiciness can often be adjusted for personal preferences.
Conclusion
Finally, exploring popular Nigerian meals helps you to connect with the vibrant culture properly, the varieties of Nigerian meals can help enhance your experience visiting Nigeria regardless of the purpose of your visit. There is a variety of meals in Nigeria you can explore regardless of your palate and what kind of food you consume. Nigeria has spicy, sweet, sour, flavoured, you name it, Nigeria’s must-try recipes got you. If you have been hearing about Nigerian meals especially the popular Jollof Rice you must have heard about, this is a cue to travel to Nigeria and get an amazing experience. It will excite you to know that this isn’t up to half the amazing dishes that Nigeria has, If you are a food lover, Nigeria should be on your travel bucket list.