Nigerian

Nigerian cooking is built around starchy "swallows" and the rich soups you eat them with. The most famous dish is jollof rice, simmered in a base of blended tomatoes, red peppers, and onions until it turns deep red and slightly smoky, often cooked over wood fire for that flavor; Nigerians and Ghanaians argue endlessly over whose version is better. Egusi soup, thickened with ground melon seeds and studded with leafy greens, meat, and fish, is scooped up with pounded yam or eba, a stiff dough made from cassava flour. Suya is the great street food: thin skewers of beef rubbed with a peanut-and-spice mix called yaji, grilled over coals and served with raw onions and tomato. Pepper soup, a thin, fiery broth of goat or catfish loaded with chili and aromatic spices, is eaten both as comfort food and as a remedy, and pounded plantain or fried plantain (dodo) turns up alongside almost everything.