Gumbo is a stew that is popular among the U.S. Gulf Coast community with the New Orleans stew variation the most popular and is the official state cuisine of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Gumbo consists primarily of a strongly flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and the Creole "holy trinity": celery, bell peppers, and onions. Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used, whether okra or filé powder.
Jambalaya is a savory rice dish that developed in the U.S. state of Louisiana fusing together African, Spanish, and French influences, consisting mainly of meat or seafood, and vegetables mixed with rice and spices. West Africans and Spanish people each had versions of jambalaya in their respective countries. Historian Ibraham Seck states Senegalese people were making jambalaya. The French introduced tomato to West Africans and they incorporated the crop into their one-pot rice dishes that created jambalaya and enhanced jollof rice. Spanish people made paella which is also a one-pot rice dish cooked with meats and vegetables. These styles of cuisines blended in Louisiana and resulted in cultural and regional variations of the dish.
Fufu is a pounded meal found in West African cuisine. It is a Twi word that originates from the Akans in Ghana. The word has been expanded to include several variations of the pounded meal found in other African countries including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic, the Republic of Congo, Angola and Gabon. It also includes variations in the Greater Antilles and Central America, where African culinary influence is high.
Okra, Abelmoschus esculentus, known in some English-speaking countries as lady's fingers, is a flowering plant in the mallow family native to East Africa. Cultivated in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions around the world for its edible green seed pods, okra is featured in the cuisines of many countries.
Ugali, also known as posho, nsima, papa, pap, sadza, isitshwala, akume, amawe, ewokple, akple, and other names, is a type of corn meal made from maize or corn flour in several African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa, and in West Africa by the Ewes of Togo, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Cote D'Ivoire. It is cooked in boiling water or milk until it reaches a stiff or firm dough-like consistency. In 2017, the dish was added to the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, one of a few foods in the list.
Soto ayam is a traditional Indonesian dish with ingredients such as chicken, lontong, noodles, and rice vermicelli. Soto ayam is also popular in Singapore, Malaysia and Suriname, where it is made with slightly different ingredients and known as saoto. Turmeric is added as one of its main ingredients which makes the yellow chicken broth. It is one of the most popular variants of soto, a traditional soup commonly found in Indonesian cuisine. Besides chicken and vermicelli can also be served with hard-boiled eggs, slices of fried potatoes, and Chinese celery leaves. Fried shallots are usually added as a garnish. Coconut milk (santan) is also used as an additional ingredient. Koya, a powder of mixed prawn crackers with fried garlic, or sambal is a common topping. Krupuk or emping is also a common topping. Lalapan is usually served as a side dish.
Egusi, also spelled egushi, are the protein-rich seeds of certain cucurbitaceous plants, which, after being dried and ground, are used as a major ingredient in West African cuisine. Egusi is a Yoruba word, and the popular method of cooking it is deeply rooted in Yoruba culinary traditions.
Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is a common dish across East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Himalayan states of South Asia. Various types of noodles are used, such as rice noodles, wheat noodles and egg noodles.
Ogbono Soup is a Nigerian dish made with ground dry ogbono seeds. Ogbono seeds are originated and were first grown in Southern Nigeria with considerable local variation. According to research by Chris Chinaka and J.C. Obiefuna, Ogbono is an indigenous forest tree associated with plants classified as 'non-timber forest products. It goes by various indigenous names among Nigerians. The Common use of the word “ogbono” in general Nigerian parlance stems from the Igbo name for the word. Among the Nupe, it is called 'pekpeara', 'ogwi' in Bini, 'uyo' in Efik, and 'oro' or ‘apon’ in Yoruba. Although ogbono and ugiri, the Igbo name for bush-mango, are very similar indeed and often regarded as equivalents, there is technically a distinction.
Bamia is an Arab and Central Asian main dish, a stew made with okra, lamb, and tomatoes as primary ingredients. It is commonly made in the following countries and cultures: Afghani, Albanian, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Egyptian, Greek, Iranian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian, Romanian, Somali, Sudanese, Syrian, Tanzania, and Turkish. Additional ingredients used can include tomato sauce or tomato paste, onion, garlic, cilantro (coriander), pomegranate molasses, vegetable oil, cardamom, salt and pepper.
Peanut stew or groundnut stew, also known as maafe, sauce d'arachide (French) or tigadèguèna is a stew that is a staple food in Western Africa. While maafe is a dish from Senegal, tigadéguéna originates from the Mandinka and Bambara people of Mali.
Nigerian cuisine consists of dishes or food items from the hundreds of Native African ethnic groups that comprises Nigeria. Like other West African cuisines, it uses spices and herbs with palm oil or groundnut oil to create deeply flavored sauces and soups.
Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling or simmering solid ingredients in liquids in a pot until the flavors are extracted, forming a broth. Soups are similar to stews, and in some cases there may not be a clear distinction between the two; however, soups generally have more liquid (broth) than stews.
Cheese soup is a type of soup prepared using cheese as a primary ingredient, along with milk, broth and/or stock to form its basis. Various additional ingredients are used in its preparation, and various types and styles of cheese soup exist. It is a part of some cuisines in the world, such as American, Colombian, Mexican, Swiss, French, and Tibetan cuisines. Mass-produced cheese soups may be prepared with the addition of food additives to preserve them and enhance flavor. A list of cheese soups is included in this article.
Palm nut soup or banga is a soup made from palm fruit common in the Cameroonian, Ghanaian, Nigerian, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ivorian communities. The soup is made from a palm cream or palm nut base with stewed marinated meats, smoked dried fish, and aromatics. It is often eaten with starch, fufu, omotuo, banku, fonio, or rice. The use of the palm fruit in cooking is significant in Ivorian, Cameronian, Nigerian, Ghanaian, Liberian and other West and Central African cuisine.
Carrot soup is a soup prepared with carrot as a primary ingredient. It can be prepared as a cream- or broth-style soup. Additional vegetables, root vegetables and various other ingredients can be used in its preparation. It may be served hot or cold, and several recipes exist.
Vegetable soup is a common soup prepared using vegetables and leaf vegetables as primary ingredients. It dates to ancient history, and is a mass-produced food product in contemporary times.
Pounded yam is a Nigerian swallow or Okele food. It is commonly prepared by pounding boiled yam with mortar and pestle Pounded yam is similar to mashed potatoes but heavier in consistency. It is a smooth delicacy eaten with the hands.
Ila Alasepo or ila asepo is a Yoruba Okro sauce/ stew, called soup in Nigerian English, eaten with Okele. Ila-Alasepo means "Okro cooked together". It involves an Okro sauce cooked with seafood and spices. It can also have meat and fish as well. Ila alasepo is similar to African Gombo or Sauce Gombo or Louisiana Gumbo. The dish can have the okro viscous or viscosity free. It is different from " Ila" which just means okro which in cooked Yoruba cuisine usually refers to a plain cooked okro or cooked with Iru separately cooked from a tomato-pepper based sauce called Obe-ata that it is eaten with alongsides Okele. Unlike ila, ila alasepo is cooked together and usually features seafood, meat and fish, with pepper, tomato, oil, onion, iru and other spices added in one pot. it can be called Obe Ila alasepo, Obe means Soup, Sauce or Stew in Yoruba.
