Before cooking any Nigerian meal, you’ve got to have certain ingredients ready. Here’s a list of ingredients I put together which you’d likely see when preparing both simple and complex meals. This would help you identify what you’ll need when preparing meals.
Here’s the full list below:
A. SEASONINGS:::
Local Seasonings like these are very important when cooking Nigerian food. They’ve long been used for ages in preparing local delicacies and they each add a unique flavour to meals. For more info, Click here to learn more about this
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Local Name: Iru (Yoruba) English Name: Locust Beans (fermented) |
 |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
| 2. | Local Name: Okpei (Igbo) English Name: Locust Beans (fermented) |
 |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
| 3. | Local Name: Dawadawa (Hausa type) English Name: Locust Beans (fermented) |
 |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
| 4. | Local Name: Ogiri (Igbo) |  |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
For Full Info: Click to learn more about this |
B. CURDLING AGENTS / TENDERIZERS
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Local Name(s): Akaun (Igbo), Kanwa (Hausa), Kaun (Yoruba) English Name: Potash |  | Used as a curdling agent and tenderizer | |
| 2. | Local Name(s): Ngoh / Ngoo (igbo) English Name: Palm bunch ash |  | Used as a curdling agent and tenderizer |
C. THICKENERS
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Local Name: Achi |  |
D. VEGETABLES
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Leafy Vegetables |  | For more Info: Click to learn more about this | For more Info: Click to learn more about this |
| 2. | Herbs |  | • Parsley • Rosemary e.t.c | |
| 3. | Calciferous Vegetables |  | For more info: Where to get foreign fruits and vegetables locally |
E. FISH & SEAFOOD
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Fish & Seafood |  | • Stock fish • Dry fish • Beef • Cow Hide (Sharki/ Kpomo) • Crayfish • Dried prawns / Shrimp |
F. MEAT
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Meat |  |
G. SPICES
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Spices |  | Full list HERE |
H. COOKING OILS
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | Local Name: Akwu (Igbo), Banga Juice(Delta), English Name: Palm fruit Juice |  | For full info: Click Here | For full info: Click Here |
| 2. | Local Name: English Name: Palm Oil |  | For full info: Click Here | For full info: Click Here |
I. SEEDS & NUTS
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | SEEDS |  | For full info: Click Here | For full info: Click Here |
J. FLOURS / MEALS/GRITS
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | YAM MEAL FLOUR (WHITE) | |||
| YAM MEAL FLOUR(BROWN) | ||||
| 2. | CORN / MAIZE MEAL FLOUR(WHITE) | |||
| CORN / MAIZE MEAL FLOUR (YELLOW) | ||||
| 3. | CASSAVA MEAL FLOUR | |||
| CASSAVA GRITS (GARRI) | ||||
| 4. | WHEAL MEAL FLOUR | |||
| 5. | OAT MEAL FLOUR |
K. STARCHES
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | CORN STARCH | |||
| 2. | CASSAVA STARCH | |||
| CASSAVA STARCH BALLS(TAPIOCA) | ||||
L. SWALLOWS
Swallow is a term used to describe edible dough balls served alongside Nigerian soups. For the full Article, CLICK HERE
| NUM | NAME | PICTURE | DESCRIPTION | USES |
| 1. | English Name: Yam swallow | Full Article HERE | Full Article HERE | |
| Local Name: Pounded yam | ||||
| Local Name: Amala | ||||
| Local Name: Poundo Yam | ||||
| 2. | Garri | |||
| 3. | English Name: Corn meal Swallow Local Name: Nnioka (Igbo) | |||
| Local Name: Tuwo Masara (Hausa) | ||||
| 4. | Onunu | |||
| 5. | Wheat Meal Swallow | |||
| 6. | Tuwo Shinkafa | |||
| 7. | Fufu |
Check Out Other Categories Below
CONDIMENTS
