Nigerian Cuisine Guide

Explore 20+ Authentic Nigerian Dishes, Ingredients & Recipes

Suya

Suya

Ingredients

  • Peanut powder (or ground peanuts)
  • Onions (finely chopped)
  • Tomatoes (blended)
  • Chili peppers or cayenne powder
  • Garden eggs (optional)
  • Stockfish (optional)
  • Meat/vegetables (optional)
  • Salt, sugar, and spices

How to Cook

  1. Heat a pan on medium heat.
  2. Sauté onions until golden.
  3. Add meat/fish and cook until browned.
  4. Stir in blended tomatoes, chili, and spices.
  5. Add peanut powder and stir until thickened.
  6. Season with salt and sugar. Serve with rice or bread.

Egusi Soup

Egusi Soup

Ingredients

  • Ground melon seeds (or egusi powder)
  • Palm kernel kernels
  • Meat (cow stomach, head, or chicken)
  • Crayfish
  • Garden eggs (optional)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Water or stock

How to Cook

  1. Boil water in a pot.
  2. Add melon seeds and stir until thickened.
  3. Add meat, crayfish, and palm kernel kernels.
  4. Simmer for 15 minutes.
  5. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with rice or garri.

Jollof Rice

Jollof Rice

Ingredients

  • Basmati rice
  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes (pureed)
  • Onions
  • Chicken/vegetable stock
  • Oil
  • Salt and spices

How to Cook

  1. Rinse rice thoroughly.
  2. Sauté onions in oil until translucent.
  3. Add pureed tomatoes and cook until thick.
  4. Add garden eggs, stock, and rice.
  5. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Moi Moi

Moi Moi

Ingredients

  • Parboiled rice
  • Black-eyed peas
  • Onions
  • Ground pepper
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Sugar and salt
  • Egg (optional)

How to Cook

  1. Blend rice, black-eyed peas, and water into a paste.
  2. Add onions, pepper, salt, and sugar.
  3. Fry small portions in oil or steam in a mold.
  4. Serve warm.

Ofada Rice

Ofada Rice

Ingredients

  • Ofada rice
  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Fish
  • Stock
  • Salt and spices

How to Cook

  1. Soak rice for 2–3 hours.
  2. Sauté onions, tomatoes, and garden eggs.
  3. Add rice and stock.
  4. Cook covered for 25 minutes.
  5. Add fish and season.

Ogbono Soup

Ogbono Soup

Ingredients

  • Ogbono seeds
  • Meat/fish
  • Crayfish
  • Garden eggs
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Water

How to Cook

  1. Soak ogbono seeds overnight. Blend into paste.
  2. Cook meat in oil, then add ogbono paste.
  3. Add water, crayfish, and garden eggs.
  4. Simmer for 20 minutes. Season and serve.

Pepper Soup

Pepper Soup

Ingredients

  • Meat/chicken
  • Pepper (chili, cayenne)
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Stockfish (optional)
  • Salt and sugar
  • Water

How to Cook

  1. Boil meat until tender.
  2. Blend pepper, onions, and garlic into a paste.
  3. Combine with meat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  4. Season and serve.

Pounded Yam

Pounded Yam

Ingredients

  • Yam tubers
  • Palm kernel oil (or vegetable oil)
  • Salt and pepper

How to Cook

  1. Peel and boil yams until soft.
  2. Pound in a mortar with a pestle until smooth.
  3. Add oil, salt, and pepper. Serve with soup.

Eko (Agbo)

Eko

Ingredients

  • Maize grains
  • Sugar
  • Milk (optional)
  • Salt

How to Cook

  1. Soak maize overnight.
  2. Grind into a coarse meal.
  3. Boil water and add the meal. Cook until thick.
  4. Add sugar, milk, and salt.

Akara

Akara

Ingredients

  • Black-eyed peas (cowpeas)
  • Onions
  • Salt
  • Pepper
  • Water
  • Oil (for frying)

How to Cook

  1. Soak cowpeas for 4–5 hours.
  2. Blend with onions, salt, and pepper into a paste.
  3. Heat oil in a pan.
  4. Drop spoonfuls of the paste into hot oil.
  5. Fry until golden brown. Drain and serve.

Okro Soup

Okro Soup

Ingredients

  • Okro vegetables
  • Tomatoes
  • Meat/fish
  • Onions
  • Crayfish
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Salt and pepper

How to Cook

  1. Blend okro and tomatoes.
  2. Sauté onions and meat in oil.
  3. Add the blended okro and crayfish.
  4. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season and serve.

Ewogonyi

Ewogonyi

Ingredients

  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Meat/fish
  • Onions
  • Pepper
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Salt

How to Cook

  1. Blend garden eggs and tomatoes.
  2. Sauté onions and meat in oil.
  3. Add the blended mixture and pepper.
  4. Simmer for 10–15 minutes. Season and serve.

Nigerian Fried Rice

Fried Rice

Ingredients

  • Rice
  • Eggs
  • Chicken/vegetables
  • Carrots, peas
  • Soy sauce
  • Oil
  • Salt and pepper

How to Cook

  1. Cook rice and let it cool.
  2. Stir-fry chicken, veggies, and eggs in oil.
  3. Add rice and soy sauce.
  4. Stir-fry for 5 minutes. Season and serve.

Coconut Rice

Coconut Rice

Ingredients

  • Rice
  • Coconut milk
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Spices

How to Cook

  1. Rinse and cook rice.
  2. Mix in coconut milk, sugar, and salt.
  3. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Ofada Stew

Ofada Stew

Ingredients

  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Pepper
  • Meat/fish
  • Onions
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Salt

How to Cook

  1. Blend garden eggs, tomatoes, and pepper.
  2. Sauté onions and meat in oil.
  3. Add the blended mixture.
  4. Simmer for 15 minutes. Season and serve with rice.

Garden Eggs Stew

Garden Eggs Stew

Ingredients

  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Meat/fish
  • Pepper
  • Oil
  • Salt

How to Cook

  1. Blend garden eggs and tomatoes.
  2. Sauté onions and meat in oil.
  3. Add the blend and pepper.
  4. Simmer for 10 minutes. Season and serve.

Stockfish Soup

Stockfish Soup

Ingredients

  • Stockfish
  • Garden eggs
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Meat
  • Crayfish
  • Palm kernel oil
  • Salt and pepper

How to Cook

  1. Soak stockfish overnight.
  2. Blend garden eggs, tomatoes, and onions.
  3. Cook meat and stockfish in oil.
  4. Add the blend and crayfish. Simmer.
  5. Season and serve with rice or yams.

Bean Porridge

Bean Porridge

Ingredients

  • Cowpeas
  • Water
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Milk (optional)

How to Cook

  1. Soak cowpeas for 4–5 hours.
  2. Grind into a paste with water.
  3. Cook in a pot until thick and creamy.
  4. Add sugar, salt, and milk. Serve hot.

Suya Chicken

Suya Chicken

Ingredients

  • Chicken
  • Peanut powder
  • Onions
  • Chili powder
  • Garden eggs
  • Stockfish (optional)
  • Salt and spices

How to Cook

  1. Marinate chicken with salt and spices.
  2. Cook chicken until fully done.
  3. In a pan, make suya sauce with peanut powder, onions, chili, and garden eggs.
  4. Toss cooked chicken in the suya sauce.

Fried Plantain

Fried Plantain

Ingredients

  • Ripe plantains
  • Sugar
  • Salt
  • Oil (for frying)
  • Cinnamon (optional)

How to Cook

  1. Peel and slice plantains.
  2. Heat oil in a pan.
  3. Fry plantain slices until golden on both sides.
  4. Sprinkle with sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Serve.