We know the meals that gets the headlines. Jollof stirs endless debates and afang is regarded as one of the GOATs. Ogbono doesn’t raise eyebrows and oha gets a nod. Even ewa agoyin and amala have become mainstream, while suya is hailed as the king of the streets.
However, Nigeria’s tables hold far more than the usual suspects. Between the northern savannah and the creeks of the Niger Delta, there are soups, swallows and steamed pots that rarely leave home, so see this article as your invitation to try something new.
Gas Meat
Gas meat is smoked bush meat, typically antelope, cooked over an open flame with local spices. It’s popular in rural Northern Nigeria and has a smoky flavour that sets it apart from more familiar meat dishes.
Tuwo Shinkafa & Miyan Kuka
Tuwo shinkafa is a soft, smooth rice swallow, rolled into balls and eaten with soup. Miyan kuka, the soup it’s often paired with, is made from dried baobab leaves (kuka) and dried okra. It looks a lot like ogbono, but it has a flavour all its own. It’s traditionally made with beef, though fish and chicken both work.
Ofe Okazi
Ofe Okazi is simple, which is exactly why it’s easy to get wrong. It’s made with okazi leaves, usually alongside beef, stockfish, tripe and assorted meats, though goat and chicken are good too. Don’t confuse okazi with utazi, the bitter leaf that garnishes abacha, isi-ewu and nkwobi, or with uziza, the peppery leaf and seed used in pepper soups.
Fisherman Soup & Onunu
Rivers Native Soup, better known as Fisherman Soup, is a palm oil broth thickened with cocoyam or achi and loaded with seafood such as fish, shrimp, periwinkles and whelks (ngolo). Keep it to seafood, because it is called Fisherman Soup for a reason. For the full experience, pair it with onunu, a swallow of pounded boiled yam and plantain finished with palm oil and a dash of pepper. Onunu is traditionally served with fresh fish peppersoup, but it works just as well with Native Soup.
Marugbo Soup & Pupuru
Marugbo soup, also called black soup or obe eweta, is as much medicine as meal. It’s tied closely to the Ikale people of Ondo and goes by other names elsewhere: eweta and gbanunu among the Ondos, obatadudu among the Idanre, and obenetete among the Urhobo. The Ikale cook it with marugbo leaves, along with basil (efirin), and people either drink it as a remedy or eat it with pupuru, a native Ondo swallow made from processed cassava.
Bier & Akpukpa
This is a Tiv favourite enjoyed across the state. Bier is made from fermented guinea corn, with a tangy flavour akin to agbalumo (African star apple). It’s served with akpukpa, a steamed dish of beans or Bambara nuts that’s similar to moin-moin but deeper and earthier in taste.
Ekuru & Fried Stew
Ekuru, also called ofuloju or white moin-moin, is made from steamed, blended, dehulled beans. It is similar to moin-moin but softer and plainer. It’s traditionally eaten with spicy ata dindin (fried stew) or eko/agidi, and once you’ve tried it, you’ll wonder what took you so long.
