The foods we eat

We’ve gotten lots of good food since we’ve been in Nigeria. Reid early on made the comment that he really enjoyed the indigenous food. Since then he’s been gaining weight. One day he ate five full meals! Here’s a quick rundown on some of what we’ve experienced.

Pounded yam: This starchy root crop grows all over Nigeria in all types of soil. It’s pounded into a paste and then generally eaten with a stew. You roll it into a ball and dip the stew with it. The stews themselves vary greatly (from okra to greens and much more). Most of the food here is slightly spicy hot.

Semovita: This corn based paste is eaten much like pounded yam. There is also a flour variety.

Moi-moi: Made from mashed black-eyed peas, it is served at times rolled around cornmeal or alone in balls.

Palm oil: Red in color this is often added to beans or potatoes for flavoring.

Palm wine: This treat is simply amazing. It ferments inside the palm tree, so someone taps the palm, and dilutes the sap with just a bit of water. It smells a bit like vinegar, but is somewhat sweet tasting. The fresher the better, as it turns bitter with age—or so we’re told.

Chips: Think of the British fish and chips and you get the idea. Plateau state grows more Irish potatoes than any other region of the country.

Puff-puff: These are kind of like beignet, but not quite as light, and without the powdered sugar (and chicory coffee). They are delicious.

Suya: Beef on a stick. This one will burn you—it’s very spicy.

Meat pies: It looks like an apple turn-over, but contains ground meat. This can be a winner or a loser, depending entirely on the quality of the pastry.

Fish rolls: It ain’t sushi. It’s blended fish wrapped in pastry and baked up.

Fresh fruit: pineapple, bananas, oranges, mangoes. Mango trees are everywhere.

Beverages: Fanta (all flavors—Reid’s favorite is the pineapple), Five Alive, Star Beer, Maltina (it’s basically unfermented beer—sweet and malty), the Chapman (a perfect mixer—fruity and refreshing; Reid was wondering why his last name was so striking to everyone he met)

Jollof rice: This seems to be the national dish. Nigerians eat it two or three times a day. Spiced with hot pepper, maybe with a bit of fish sauce in it, most of us really like it.

Fried plantains: These appear on most dishes.

Eggs: These show up often, sometimes boiled, but more generally fried. They are generally sided with chips. Jenn had one hard-boiled that had a white yoke!

Assorted meats: Chicken is ubiquitous, with catfish and farmed tilapia making occasional appearances. We’ve all eaten goat several times. Beef also shows up on a regular basis. While in Jos we ate at the restaurant on the campus of the National Veterinary Research Institute; the beef there was devine—tender and tasty. Reid also tried cow's feet and shank. Not a big hit.

Pepper soup: Spicy hot with a thin broth and a piece of meat. This one is a bit hotter than the other foods we’ve eaten.

Breakfasts often follow the British model: beans on toast, oatmeal, liver and eggs.