Nigerian Cuisine: Variety at its peak@
In my country, there are 36 States and a State Capital (Federal Territory Capital). And across the 36 states, there are different ethnic groups scattered all over. The majority are the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa tribes, then we have a lot of others. I am originally from Kogi State, of the Ebira tribe because both parents are from there. But I was born in Ibadan, Oyo State and speak Yoruba fluently, I grew up in Ibadan; the capital of Oyo State and only left to school in Ogun State when I was going to Nursing school. But no, I am not here to talk about the ethnic groups in Nigeria, nor am I here to discuss the many different languages we have. I am here to share with you the beauty and variety that is the Nigerian Cuisine.
The Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes from the different hundreds of ethnic groups that make up the country. Nigerian dishes are usually deeply flavoured, feasts are usually colourful and lavish, and you cannot talk about the Nigerian cuisine leaving out roadside snacks. Different ethnic groups have their special dishes, but there are those dishes that are favoured by all ethnic groups. Varying dishes or food items are considered for breakfast, lunch or dinner but there is no written rule as to what you can eat when. A lot of dishes are rice-based, some are bean-based. There are varying soups, stews and sauces across the ethnic groups, meat and fish also vary. Side dishes, puddings and porridges are not left out. There’s so much variety that if you are a tourist in the country or visiting for the first time, you might need a guide not just for touring the cities but for knowing which dishes are worth giving a try.
Let’s start with foods that are rice-based. Foods that are rice-based are often preferred for breakfast. There is the coconut rice made with coconut milk, there is the very popularly known jollof rice made with tomato and pepper base, fried rice belongs to this category and is typically mixed with an assortment of vegetables. There is Pate which is common in the north-western part of Nigeria, made with dry corn, or rice and mostly combined with vegetables. Tuwo shinkafa is thick rice pudding usually eaten with goat meat stew also primarily served in north-western Nigeria. Then how can I talk about rice based food without including white rice (either the local rice, known as ofada or the foreign rice) which is usually served with pepper stews and sauces (varying from tribes to tribes).
Bean-based foods are akara which are fried balls of thick bean puree with spices, gbegiri; a bean-based stew from south western Nigeria, Moi-moi; steamed bean puree with spices fish or eggs. There’s Ekuru which is a variety of moi-moi also from the south western part of Nigeria, Ewa Aganyin is not left behind, and this dish is one of my favourite.
Quickly, let us move to soups and stews. Oh the variety! Although varying types of soups are cooked by different tribes, these soups have become known across the country in places where they didn’t originate. Banga soup is made from palm nuts and is primarily eaten in south and mid-western Nigeria. Miyan Kuka is common among the Hausa people in north-western Nigeria and is made from powdered baobab leaves and dried okra. Ayamase is a stew made from blending green or red scotch bonnets with green bell peppers and onions, it is eaten with ofada rice and absolutely delicious. Ewedu soup is popular among the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria, it is jute leaves cooked until tender and pureed using a special broom or a blender with the advent of technology. Edikang-ikong is a vegetable soup made from ugwu (pumpkin leaves) and waterleaf, if I were your trip advisor, this is one dish I would definitely suggest you give a try. It is lip-smacking delicious! There’s more to mention, Pepper soup, Afang, Draw soup which got its name from the slimy nature of the soups. Atama soup, and my all-time favourite Efo riro, Egusi soup, Groundnut soup, Achara soup and a host of other equally delicious and exciting soups from different tribes.
There is so much variety in Nigerian dishes that it is difficult to cover them all. There’s still the meat to talk about, from kilishi to suya, from tsire to asun, from nkwobi to balangu, there’s just so much to mention and describe. But do not let our hurry and time constraint stop us from mentioning the snacks; chin chin are best described as diced cookies only that they are crunchier in texture, puff-puff are fried sweet dough balls which are best eaten steaming hot, kokoro is a fried dry snack made from corn and garri (cassava flakes). More commonly known are the meatpie, plantain chips, cocnut candy and the Nigerian buns. Sincerely, I could go on and on about the variety in the Nigerian cuisine. I could go on and on about how boldly spicy and aromatic you’ll find the foods. I could go on and on and still not cover them all!
So, I can only hope that my brief introduction to what food in Nigeria looks like would prick your interest in visiting the country sometime in the future and be brave enough to try new tastes. And that when you do indeed visit, you would take my advice and use a guide, some of the dishes are so spicy you do not want to dive in unprepared (especially if you’re visiting the south-western parts of Nigeria). Thank you for being such a wonderful audience, I am Blessing Omayoza Fagbemi, of Nigeria.
Comments
Essay evaluations by e-grader
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 2, column 176, Rule ID: MASS_AGREEMENT[2]
Message: Possible agreement error - use third-person verb forms for singular and mass nouns: 'is'.
Suggestion: is
...groups scattered all over. The majority are the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa tribes, then...
^^^
Line 2, column 612, Rule ID: NUMEROUS_DIFFERENT[1]
Message: Use simply 'many'.
Suggestion: many
...n Nigeria, nor am I here to discuss the many different languages we have. I am here to share w...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 7, column 317, Rule ID: ENGLISH_WORD_REPEAT_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a word
Suggestion: chin
...int stop us from mentioning the snacks; chin chin are best described as diced cookies onl...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 8, column 272, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
...u would take my advice and use a guide, some of the dishes are so spicy you do not want to ...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, first, if, look, may, so, still, then, as to
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 58.0 7.0 829% => Less to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 1.00243902439 1197% => Less auxiliary verb wanted.
Conjunction : 55.0 6.8 809% => Less conjunction wanted
Relative clauses : 21.0 3.15609756098 665% => Less relative clauses wanted (maybe 'which' is over used).
Pronoun: 64.0 5.60731707317 1141% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 116.0 33.7804878049 343% => Less preposition wanted.
Nominalization: 5.0 3.97073170732 126% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 4463.0 965.302439024 462% => Less number of characters wanted.
No of words: 949.0 196.424390244 483% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.70284510011 4.92477711251 95% => OK
Fourth root words length: 5.55030121719 3.73543355544 149% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.35536168845 2.65546596893 89% => OK
Unique words: 430.0 106.607317073 403% => Less unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.4531085353 0.547539520022 83% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 1400.4 283.868780488 493% => syllable counts are too long.
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.45097560976 103% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 16.0 1.53170731707 1045% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 5.0 4.33902439024 115% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 1.07073170732 187% => OK
Conjunction: 11.0 0.482926829268 2278% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 6.0 3.36585365854 178% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 41.0 8.94146341463 459% => Too many sentences.
Sentence length: 23.0 22.4926829268 102% => OK
Sentence length SD: 60.3395902464 43.030603864 140% => OK
Chars per sentence: 108.853658537 112.824112599 96% => OK
Words per sentence: 23.1463414634 22.9334400587 101% => OK
Discourse Markers: 1.34146341463 5.23603664747 26% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 7.0 3.83414634146 183% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 4.0 1.69756097561 236% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 14.0 3.70975609756 377% => Less positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 1.13902439024 439% => Less negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 22.0 4.09268292683 538% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.0771783629227 0.215688989381 36% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0253317676475 0.103423049105 24% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0524253290119 0.0843802449381 62% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0388381150319 0.15604864568 25% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0379308348973 0.0819641961636 46% => Paragraphs are similar to each other. Some content may get duplicated or it is not exactly right on the topic.
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 12.3 13.2329268293 93% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 56.59 61.2550243902 92% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 6.51609756098 48% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.1 10.3012195122 108% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.28 11.4140731707 90% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.06 8.06136585366 100% => OK
difficult_words: 197.0 40.7170731707 484% => Less difficult words wanted.
linsear_write_formula: 8.0 11.4329268293 70% => OK
gunning_fog: 11.2 10.9970731707 102% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.0658536585 108% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum four paragraphs wanted.
It is not exactly right on the topic in the view of e-grader. Maybe there is a wrong essay topic.
Rates: 11.2359550562 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 1.0 Out of 9
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.
Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 2, column 176, Rule ID: MASS_AGREEMENT[2]
Message: Possible agreement error - use third-person verb forms for singular and mass nouns: 'is'.
Suggestion: is
...groups scattered all over. The majority are the Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa tribes, then...
^^^
Line 2, column 612, Rule ID: NUMEROUS_DIFFERENT[1]
Message: Use simply 'many'.
Suggestion: many
...n Nigeria, nor am I here to discuss the many different languages we have. I am here to share w...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 7, column 317, Rule ID: ENGLISH_WORD_REPEAT_RULE
Message: Possible typo: you repeated a word
Suggestion: chin
...int stop us from mentioning the snacks; chin chin are best described as diced cookies onl...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 8, column 272, Rule ID: SOME_OF_THE[1]
Message: Simply use 'some'.
Suggestion: some
...u would take my advice and use a guide, some of the dishes are so spicy you do not want to ...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Transition Words or Phrases used:
also, but, first, if, look, may, so, still, then, as to
Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments
Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 58.0 7.0 829% => Less to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 1.00243902439 1197% => Less auxiliary verb wanted.
Conjunction : 55.0 6.8 809% => Less conjunction wanted
Relative clauses : 21.0 3.15609756098 665% => Less relative clauses wanted (maybe 'which' is over used).
Pronoun: 64.0 5.60731707317 1141% => Less pronouns wanted
Preposition: 116.0 33.7804878049 343% => Less preposition wanted.
Nominalization: 5.0 3.97073170732 126% => OK
Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 4463.0 965.302439024 462% => Less number of characters wanted.
No of words: 949.0 196.424390244 483% => Less content wanted.
Chars per words: 4.70284510011 4.92477711251 95% => OK
Fourth root words length: 5.55030121719 3.73543355544 149% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.35536168845 2.65546596893 89% => OK
Unique words: 430.0 106.607317073 403% => Less unique words wanted.
Unique words percentage: 0.4531085353 0.547539520022 83% => More unique words wanted or less content wanted.
syllable_count: 1400.4 283.868780488 493% => syllable counts are too long.
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.5 1.45097560976 103% => OK
A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 16.0 1.53170731707 1045% => Less pronouns wanted as sentence beginning.
Article: 5.0 4.33902439024 115% => OK
Subordination: 2.0 1.07073170732 187% => OK
Conjunction: 11.0 0.482926829268 2278% => Less conjunction wanted as sentence beginning.
Preposition: 6.0 3.36585365854 178% => OK
Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 41.0 8.94146341463 459% => Too many sentences.
Sentence length: 23.0 22.4926829268 102% => OK
Sentence length SD: 60.3395902464 43.030603864 140% => OK
Chars per sentence: 108.853658537 112.824112599 96% => OK
Words per sentence: 23.1463414634 22.9334400587 101% => OK
Discourse Markers: 1.34146341463 5.23603664747 26% => More transition words/phrases wanted.
Paragraphs: 7.0 3.83414634146 183% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 4.0 1.69756097561 236% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 14.0 3.70975609756 377% => Less positive sentences wanted.
Sentences with negative sentiment : 5.0 1.13902439024 439% => Less negative sentences wanted.
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 22.0 4.09268292683 538% => Less facts, knowledge or examples wanted.
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?
Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.0771783629227 0.215688989381 36% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0253317676475 0.103423049105 24% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0524253290119 0.0843802449381 62% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0388381150319 0.15604864568 25% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0379308348973 0.0819641961636 46% => Paragraphs are similar to each other. Some content may get duplicated or it is not exactly right on the topic.
Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 12.3 13.2329268293 93% => Automated_readability_index is low.
flesch_reading_ease: 56.59 61.2550243902 92% => OK
smog_index: 3.1 6.51609756098 48% => Smog_index is low.
flesch_kincaid_grade: 11.1 10.3012195122 108% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 10.28 11.4140731707 90% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 8.06 8.06136585366 100% => OK
difficult_words: 197.0 40.7170731707 484% => Less difficult words wanted.
linsear_write_formula: 8.0 11.4329268293 70% => OK
gunning_fog: 11.2 10.9970731707 102% => OK
text_standard: 12.0 11.0658536585 108% => OK
What are above readability scores?
---------------------
Maximum four paragraphs wanted.
It is not exactly right on the topic in the view of e-grader. Maybe there is a wrong essay topic.
Rates: 11.2359550562 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 1.0 Out of 9
---------------------
Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.