EXTRA: 10 Nigerian meals you must eat before you die

NEWS DIGEST – In this report, The NEWS DIGEST’s Joy Bakong takes us through 10 Meals you should not afford to miss in your lifetime.

While the Country is blessed richly with a lot of delicacies, these are Joy Bakong’s pick.

1) Ewagoyin: (beans) is a popular variety in Nigeria, it’s popularity is not unconnected to the unique taste it offers especially when combined with some food. It can be eaten with yam, bread or even plantain. The Agayin stew is a very special stew as it can’t be prepared with fresh pepper or tomatoes, only Cayenne (dried pepper) or dry shombo pepper.This meal is good because beans is known for its high level of protein and eating it with bread makes it complete because bread has a good amount of carbohydrate in it. Anyone who Tastes Ewagoyin will definitely have a lot to savor after it and we cannot but recommend the delicacy to anyone coming to Nigeria especially the Eastern part of the Country and by extension some part of the South West, Nigeria.

 2) Ofe-owerri :which is popular in the southeastern part of Nigeria and can be eaten with Eba (garri) or Fufu. The soup originates from Owerri in Imo state. The soup is known for its richness in assorted meat and has a lot of vegetables in it. For vegetable lovers, this would be a very good meal to try.

3)Starch and Banga soup: This is popular in the south. This soup is made from palmnut. Banga Soup is flavored with Beletete, aidan fruit, rohojie, Banga spice leaves called Obenetietien) (scent or bitter leaves can be substituted),a stick of oburunbebe, finely chopped onion, ground crayfish, chili pepper or scotch bonnet, and salt.Some people also add okra to their banga soup to bring out a different taste.

4) Efo riro and Ewedu: They are soups which are popular in the west and can be eaten with any swallow. Ewedu is usually eaten with Gbegiri and Amala. This combination is always perfect for lunch. Also they are very cheap to prepare compared to what it costs to prepare a pure stew of same quality. Also there is a huge believe that when you take for instance Efo Riro there is a high possibility of a once weakened body to be strengthened especially when you try it with Iyan (Pounded Yam).

5) We have Miyan Taushe and Tuwo Shinkafa which is mostly eaten in the North. Miyan Taushe is also known as pumpkin soup. It is made from ripe pumpkin meat. In Nigeria, the Gourd type is mostly used but any type can actually be used as far as it’s ripe. This soup is very rich in vitamins and research also shows that the soup boosts fertility.

6)Afang is very popular in the south-south region; particularly in Akwa Ibom and Cross River state. The soup consists mainly of water leaf and Okazi. This soup is a must try because it is very delicious and should not be missed.

7)Egusi soup is popular in both the west and the east. This soup is made from melon seed and vegetables with some assorted meats. It is very rich in vitamins and you’ll enjoy it.

 8)Nkwobi which is just cow leg cooked in palm oil sauce is very popular in Eastern Nigeria. It is always served in something that looks like a small mortar. It is always served as an appetizer and not mostly a main meal.

 9)Moi-moi is made of blended beans and is a very healthy meal. It is very rich in protein and can be eaten with almost anything. This meal can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner and it is not associated with any particular region of Nigeria because it a very good and healthy meal and everybody eats it.

Various ingredients are added to spice the taste of Moimoi and the more the rich ingredients like fish, Egg, Cornbeef the more the enjoyability.

 10) Danwake is a very popular meal from the North. It is basically beans dumplings.

So if you want to have a very pleasant stay in Nigeria, try out this meals.

Joy Bakong is an intern with the News Digest.