Herbs, Seeds and Roots Used in Cooking Nigerian Foods

African lemon Grass: Cymbopogon citrates (Yourba: koko oba; Ibo: achara ehi; akwukuo; Efik: ikonti: Ibibio: myoyaka) Easily cultivated. Used for making tea and in some Delta pepper soups and pottages. Also a local deterrent to tsetse fly and snakes.

Afzelia Bella Bella (ibo: ule ule) The fermented leaves of this plant can be purchased from Eastern market women. They are added to boiling yam to give aroma and flavour.

Beletiention (Itsekiri) This herb is usually purchased dried and ground from women from Bendel State in the local markets. Sprinkle over palm-nut soup when cooking.

Bitter Leaf: Vernonia anyadalina (Yoruba: ewuro; Efik: etido) This large shrib, which only grows in the tropics, is botanically related to lettuce, chicory and daisies. To remove most of the bitterness in the leave, they are usually crushed and washed thoroughly. Bitter leaf is easily grown and is also readily available in the market either as fresh leaves or washed and scrubbed. It can also be dried for storage. Bitter leaf is used as a vegetable in stews, often with egusi. It gives a bitter, mildly astringent quality to the dish. It is also widely used medicinally.The life powder used in gumbos in Louisiana, U.S.A. is a herb mixture based on sassafras, which appears to have been adopted as a substitute by Africans there). Another plant used to produce the same effect as bitter leaf in many parts of the East is the climbing plant, Crongronema ratifolia (Ibo: utazi-zi).

Tea-bush and partminger The botanical family Labietae includes thyme, oregano, marjoram, sage, rosemary, lavender and others. These are pungent herbs, several of which are available and used in Nigeria. Two of the more widely popular are tea-bush and partminger. Neither of these is usually seen in the market, as they are both readily grown from seed and may even be found as weeds. If they are not available, fresh or dried thyme or basil may be substituted.

Tea-bush: Ocimum gratissimum (Yoruba: efinrin; Benin: ihiri; Efik: mfang, amana; Ibo: nchaawu; Kalabari: akeni, Kolokuma: furuegena) The fresh leaves are used in a wide variety of ways. In the Delta they are used in peper soups and pottages; in Kwara for egusi soups; in Igalla as a vegetable; and in other places, raw in salads. These leaves are widely believed to aid digestion.

In case of note bleeds, apply the crushed leaves, to stop the blood flowing.

Partminger Ocimum canum (Nigerian common name: curry leaf; American: basil, mint) Use as tea-bush.

Miscellaneous Flavourings

Dried Crayfish Dried crayfish (actually dried shrimp) is used in soups and stews mainly as a flavouring. It also provides valuable nutrients, especially protein. It is convenient to buy in bulk as dry crayfish must be picked over to remove foreign objects and re-dried in the sun or a 2250F, 1100C oven. Small dried crayfish are usually used ground; larger ones may be used whole, after removing the heads, tails and legs. The removed parts can be ground and added to food as well. Grinding can be done in a mortar, on a stone, in a coffee grinder or in a blender. Store whole or ground. Keep very dry in an airtight container.

Dried Okro (Hausa: nuru: Yoruba: orunla) Dried okro is sold in the market sliced or ground. It can also be prepared at home by slicing thinly and sun-drying fresh okro. When pounded or ground. It is added to soups for a flavour different from fresh okro. And for thickening.

Potash Keun and native salt are forms of potash prepared locally. They are used for flavoring and to shorten the cooking time of some foods. Some foods are changed in colour when potash is used. Kanu is sometimes used to keep palm oil from separating from the water in stews. Available in all markets.

Orange Rind, Grated Orange rind can be used in sweets to give a natural fresh flavour. Grate the outermost oily surface of the orange finely. Without including the underlying white bitter membrane. Use one teaspoon grated rind as a substitute for one teaspoon vanilla flavour in any recipe. (Lemon rind can be prepared in the same way.)

Oils and Fats

Nigeria use a wide variety of oils and fats in their cooking as ingredients for soups and stews and for frying. The most popular are palm oil and groundnut oil. The supply of both of these oils does not meet present demand. So many other cooking fats and oils are available in the local markets.

Butter Butter is important and is expensive. As it is perishable, it is sold only in shops. Butter as a table spread is an acquired taste in Nigeria: perhaps one best not acquired

Chicken Oil Coconut oil can usually be located in large urban markets and in smaller markets near its source. It is sold both as a body oil and for consumption. Try it in Jollof rice or coconut rice and use it as cooking oil in baking ( use about ten percent less oil, like animal fats. Contains mainly saturated fatty acids and becomes rancid unless stored in a cool place or an airtight container. Buy in small quantities

Corn Oil imported and expensive. Use as for vegetable oil

Egusi – seed Oil A special oil produced locally. Occasionally it can be seen tined commercially. Used in stews and on boiled foods.

Fish Oil A special oil produced in the home when frying or drying oily fish. Very nutritious. This is definitely a seasonal localized delicacy and is sometimes given as a gift. Served with boiled foods such as yam and green plantain

Ghese (Clarified butter) or ‘ghese substitute’ imported for the Asian community. Sometimes seen in the local market where it is prized for frying plantain. Can be used as other vegetable oils but has a unique butter-like taste which may not be driven off by heating if it si not desirable in the finished product. High in unsaturated fats.

Margarine Many imported and locally produced varieties of margarine are available. Tinned margarine is available even in the local markets. Although packets and tubs of soft margarine are sold in the large shops. Used mainly on bread. Tinned and packet margarine can be used in baking.

Palm Oil the fruits of the oil palm are used in food. Mainly as a source of refined oil. The husked fruits are also used fresh by extracting and sieving the unrefined oil-containing pulp to prepare banga soups. The palm kernel within the remaining hard. Thick –shelled nut is also eaten as snack food. The nut should be dried for a few days in the sun to facilitate the removal of the inner nut- meat. The whole palm fruit, as harvested, can be purchased from local farmers or it can be brought in smaller quantities. Husked, in the markets. Palm fruit should not be stored for more than a few days, but can be boiled for ten minutes. Cooled and frozen. Alternatively. The pulp can be prepared and frozen.

Palm oil contains vitamins not present in most refined oils and is therefore an important ingredient in many coconut and spices during extraction according to local tastes and is served uncooked with boiled foods such as yam or green plaintain. This oil is not readily available in the local market. But if you make friends with a market woman who buy palm oil at source. She may be able to get some for you. The palm oil processed in the eastern states is generally considered superior to that processed in large commercial oil mills throughout the country. however. the selection of good oil is always best made by tasting it before buying it. Good oil will not coat the tongue and will not be bitter or strong smelling. It will be bright red. Rather than too dark in colour: it may be oily, thick or almost solid. The oil sold in the super –markets in tins is not as good as good oil from the market. But this oil and inferior market oil can be improved if some onion is fried in it – the heating drives off some unpleasant scent and the onion imparts some additional flavour.

It should be emphasized that good market palm oil is tasty. It can be eaten without cooking. Can be used directly without frying in stews and will not give an unpleasant odour or taste to the product.

Salted Pork Oil similar to chicken oil. But prepared from salted pork.

Soybean Oil soybean oil has many nutritional advantages, but, unfortunately, is not commonly available yet in Nigeria. It is sometimes a constituent of the ‘vegetable oils seen in the markets.

Vegetable Oils five- gallon tins. One – gallon tins. And unlabelled bottles of ‘vegetable’ oil are sold in every local market groundnut oil in most foods. These oils locally produced or imported form around the world. Usually do not state the type of seed from which the oil was extracted. Unfortunately. Much of the vegetable oil being sold in Nigeria today is refined and bleached palm oil. This palm oil has been exported from the tropics, and imported again in a less nutritious form. Other ‘vegetable’ oils consist of any one or a blend of a wide variety of oils such as corn, groundnut, cottonseed, and soybean oils vegetable oils please the housewife as they are tasteless, relative relatively colorless and do not ‘splatter, when heated, unlike the more familiar groundnut and palm oils. For frying, these qualities make vegetable oils particularly attractive but for regular incorporation in soups and stews. Good nutrition dictates the continued use of the less processed locally produced oils.

Vegetable Shortening (Solid) A variety of solid vegetable shortenings is available. These appeal to the cook as they can be kept at room temperature and can be used for frying as well as baking’s. They are generally tasteless and white in colour

Seeds

Many seeds are used in Nigerian cooking. They are generally used ground. And provide special flavours. Thickening and often add oil to the dish. Such seeds used seasonally in particular areas. Cowpeas, a most important component of Nigerian foods.

Agbono: Irringia gabonsis (Common name: wild or African mango. Bush mango) the fruits of the bush mango tree are opened and the seeds split to remove and dry the inner nuts (agbono) before marketing. The agbono is very hard and is always ground before use as a flavoring and thickening in soups it gives a more or less mucilaginous ‘draw’ to the soup depending on how the dish is prepared. Before grinding the darker coloured hard – back to the nut can removes some nutrients and is not necessary. Grinding can be done in a mortar or on a stone by adding some oil. Or in a machine in the market it can also be ground in a blender or get it as fine as is usually required. It may help to chill the chopped nuts first before using a blender. Although the final product may taste slightly different, the coarsely broken agbono can be boiled in water or stew to soften before being blended and then returned to the soup (10 per cent ). Protein (31 per cent) and vitamins. Agbono is popular throughout Nigeria. Although in a few localities it is considered taboo.

Coconut: Cocos nucifera the coconut is the seed of the coconut palm. Coconut is fairly rich in protein and oil, but contains mainly cellulose and readily digestive sugars. Coconut meat is used as a snack or in combination with other foods as a light meal . for example, fresh coconut is served with soaked garri or roasted fresh corn. The coconut milk extracted from the meat is used in baking and in rice dishes and curries. To buy fresh coconuts which feel heavy and contain plenty of milk the shells should be intact. Without cracks, and the eyes dry and free from mould. Do not buy to store for long periods unless you plan to remove the meat and dry it or freeze it. As coconuts are perishable and usually available all the year round. To open the coconut the coconut can simply be cracked on a stone or with a hammer. But loss of the water is likely. Try pounding holes in the eyes with a large nail or screwdriver and pouring the water out. The flesh can be removed directly with a knife, but this is facilitated by drying the coconut whole or in large pieces in a 400 F, 200 C oven for 10-15 minutes or placing it over a hot hearth. While still hot the coconut can then be cracked open and the flesh removed more easily from the shell in large pieces. The flesh can be dried or roasted either in large pieces or after grating. By frying gently or baking at 300 F, 150 C. constant turning and care is needed to assure even browning. There is an ‘old wives’ tale’ that a child who drinks the coconut water will be a dullard. To prepare coconut milk the brown layer outside the white coconut meat may or may not be removed the coconut meat is grated finely on a grater, in a blender being cut into small pieces with a knife, or an a traditional raspado. Pour one cup of boiling water over the coconut meat. Let it stand for thirty minutes. Strain it through a fine sieve. Pour another cup of boiling water over the grated meat and let it stand another thirty minutes strain again. The milk collected from the two straining can be used with the coconut water as a beverage, preferably chilled, or in cooking.

Egusi: Citrullus colocynthis (common name: melon seed Yoruba: egusi , ibo: ogili: Hausa: agusi) the fruit of this plant can be eaten raw like cucumber or cooked in soups like marrow (summer-squash) but in Nigeria it is mainly harvested for its seeds. The black outer shell of the seed is removed manually and the creamy-white inner seed is ground raw or roasted for use in many dishes. In some places. The whole seed is fermented after being soaked in water, boiled and dried and made into a strong substance called ogiri used in preparation soups.

If cooking oil is extracted from the the seeds, the residue is also used as food (see Egbalo, Chaper 3) Egusi seeds are high in protein and oil and contain fair amounts of minerals. To buy seeds should be selected carefully to be free from discoloration and mould. They should have a pleasant nutty flavour. Egusi seeds can be ground on a stone with a little water just before use, or ground dry for storage. If they are to be stored. Grind in a mortar or a coffe grinder until fine but not pasty. The seeds may be roasted or fried (propped) before grinding. Depending. On taste. Egusi. Is best stored in the refrigerator after grinding containers at room temperature for some days. Unground dry or roasted seeds may be stored at temperature for longer periods. Unshelled seeds are even less perishable.

Groundnut: Arachis hopogea (common name: peanuts: Yoruba: epa: Hausa: gya’da: ibo: okpa) groundnut are used raw or roasted. When added to stews, they are usually ground and provide flavour and thickening. The quanlity of protein in groundnuts is more like that of animal protein than most plant foods. It is, however. Low in some essential amino-acids and should be supplemented with at least a small amount of carbohydrate. Many vitamins and minerals and fifty per cent oil, which is primarily unsaturated.

To buy fresh groundnuts should always be used straight away as sub-optimal storage may result in the production of toxic products by moulds. Groundnut are sold raw. Roasted, shelled or unshelled. Shelled groundnuts may or may not have had the red papery skin removed. Always store in a cool dry place. For long storage periods. Refrigerator or freeze

Locust Bean, fermented: Parkia filicode, parkia biglobosa (Yoruba: oru: Ibo: eginili – Efik: ete-edi- uku: Hausa kalwa) the fruit of the African locust bean tree has a pulp in which is embedded many small seeds. The pulp is dried in some areas for addition to soups. Rice and cereals. A drink called bolola is made from it. the seeds are used extensively throughout Nigeria as flavourful and nutritious addition to soups and stews. They contain about 54 per cent fat and 30 per cent protein of high quality, in addition to vitamins and minerals. The seeds are prepared by boiling for twenty –four hours to soften the coats, then pounded and washed several times to remove the broken shells. The kernels are boiled to form a paste which is then fermented. Resulting in a very strong-smelling grayish product. This is sold in the markets fresh by the spoonful or in flat dried paties, black in colour.

Oil bean seeds: Pentaclethra (common name: African oil bean : ibo: agiri) in the eastern part of Nigeria, particularly, the seeds of the African oil bean are commonly fermented and slivered for addition to pottages and stews to which they add texture, protein and oil. Other foods prepared in a similar way and used as a substitute for oil bean include egusi fruits and upko seeds. The processed oil beans or substitutes can be purchased from. Ibo food traders seasonally in the market.

Sesame seeds (Benne-seed) Nigeria is one of the largest world produces of benne-seed. It is. However, seldom seen in markets outside of the central regions where it is grown. In these areas it is consumed in large quantities, just as egusi seeds are used elsewhere, and it can substituted for them in these recipes. Its nutritional value is similar to egusi. Benne- seed can also be used in breads and sweets.