Local Dishes

1. Iyán

   Iyan (pounded yam)

   Usage

   White pounded-yam dough, beaten in a mortar (odó). You pinch off a lump by hand and dip it in soup. Yoruba proverb: "iyán is king among all foods"

   Grammar Note

   A tone-sensitive word: iyán (mid-high) is pounded yam, iyàn (mid-low) is "argument", ìyàn (low-low) is "famine". Never drop the tone marks

2. Àmàlà

   Amala (yam-flour swallow)

   Usage

   Dark brown staple made by stirring dried yam flour (èlùbọ́) into hot water. Classically served with gbẹ̀gìrì and ewédú. A specialty of Ọ̀yọ́ and Ogbómọ̀ṣọ́

   Grammar Note

   Named by its flour: àmàlà ọ̀gẹ̀dẹ̀ (plantain), àmàlà láfún (cassava). The dark colour comes from drying the yam before milling

3. Ẹ̀bà

   Eba (garri swallow)

   Usage

   Fermented cassava granules (gàrí) stirred into boiling water. The cheapest and quickest swallow in any eatery

   Grammar Note

   The final tone distinguishes two words: ẹ̀bà (low-low) is the food, ẹ̀bá (low-high) means "side, edge" — the source of the place name Ìbàdàn

4. Láfún

   Lafun (white cassava swallow)

   Usage

   White flour from cassava that has been soaked, fermented and dried, and the swallow made from it. Associated with the Ẹ̀gbá. Whiter than àmàlà, with a sour smell

   Grammar Note

   Names both the flour and the swallow made from it (àmàlà láfún). In an eatery "láfún" normally means the swallow.

5. Ọbẹ̀ ẹ̀gúsí

   Egusi soup (melon seed)

   Usage

   Grainy yellow soup of ground melon seeds cooked with oil and greens. The default partner for pounded yam or eba. If you have a seed or nut allergy, say so

   Grammar Note

   ọbẹ̀ (low-low, "soup") and ọ̀bẹ (low-mid, "knife") differ only in where the marks sit. Keep them apart

6. Ọbẹ̀ ewédú

   Ewedu soup (jute mallow)

   Usage

   Thick, slippery green soup of boiled and mashed jute-mallow leaves. Served over àmàlà with pepper stew poured on top

   Grammar Note

   A compound of ewé (leaf) and dú (to be dark). The soup takes ọbẹ̀ in front, but ewédú alone is also understood as the soup

7. Gbẹ̀gìrì

   Gbegiri (bean soup)

   Usage

   Ochre-coloured soup of peeled, ground beans cooked down until smooth and thick. Avoid it if you react to legumes

   Grammar Note

   A saying goes "rírò lọbẹ̀ gbẹ̀gìrì" — gbegiri is a soup you must keep stirring, or it turns lumpy

8. Àbùlà

   Abula (gbegiri and ewedu combined)

   Usage

   Gbẹ̀gìrì, ewédú and pepper stew served together in one bowl, normally with àmàlà. Especially common in Ọ̀yọ́ and Ogbómọ̀ṣọ́

   Grammar Note

   The word itself means a mixture (àdàlù). Ordering "àbùlà" gets you all three components at once

9. Ọbẹ̀ ilá

   Okra soup

   Usage

   Slippery soup of chopped okra. Often served as ilá alásèpọ̀, with the meat and stew cooked into it

   Grammar Note

   ilá (mid-high) is okra; ìlà (low-low) means "line" or the traditional facial marks. Dropping the tones loses the word

10. Ọbẹ̀ ààpọ̀n

    Ogbono soup (bush mango seed)

    Usage

    Dark, extremely stringy soup of ground bush-mango seeds. Widely known by its Igbo name ogbono; in Yoruba it is ààpọ̀n (also àpọ̀n)

    Grammar Note

    ààpọ̀n names both the bush-mango fruit and the soup made from its seed. It is too stringy to serve with bread or rice

11. Ẹ̀fọ́ rírò

    Efo riro (stewed greens)

    Usage

    Leafy greens stewed with palm oil, peppers and dried fish or meat. The taste changes with the leaf used (tẹ̀tẹ̀, ṣọkọ and others)

    Grammar Note

    rírò is the reduplicated form of the verb rò (to stir), used like an adjective. Yoruba modifiers follow the noun

12. Àṣáró

    Asaro (yam porridge)

    Usage

    Yellow porridge of yam cooked down with palm oil and peppers. Eaten as supper or a light lunch. Also spelled àsáró

    Grammar Note

    Named by its base: àṣáró iṣu (yam), àṣáró kókò (taro). Yoruba ṣ is pronounced like English "sh"

13. Ìkọ́kọrẹ́

    Ikokore (water yam pottage)

    Usage

    Lumpy pottage of grated water yam (ewùrà). A specialty of the Ìjẹ̀bú; also called ìfọ́kọrẹ́

    Grammar Note

    Rarely on the menu outside Ìjẹ̀bú country — check before ordering

14. Ìrẹsì Jọ̀lọ́ọ̀fù

    Jollof rice

    Usage

    Red rice cooked in one pot with tomatoes, onions and peppers. A West African dish and a fixture at celebrations, usually served with fried plantain

    Grammar Note

    The longer name is Ìrẹsì Aláṣẹ̀pọ̀ Jọ̀lọ́ọ̀fù, "rice cooked together in one pot". In speech Jọ̀lọ́ọ̀fù alone is enough.

15. Ìrẹsì Ọ̀fadà

    Ofada rice (local unpolished rice)

    Usage

    Unpolished local rice from around Ọ̀fadà in Ogun State. Distinctly aromatic, served wrapped in leaves with a green pepper sauce (ayamase)

    Grammar Note

    Sometimes dearer than imported rice, and the aroma is strong — ask for a taste first if you are unsure

16. Ẹ̀wà Àgànyìn

    Ewa Aganyin (mashed beans with pepper sauce)

    Usage

    Beans cooked to a mash under a near-black palm-oil pepper sauce. A Lagos breakfast staple, eaten with Agege bread. The sauce is genuinely hot

    Grammar Note

    ẹ̀wà (low-low) is beans; ẹ̀wá (low-high) is "ten" and ẹwà (mid-low) is "beauty". Street stalls shorten the name to "Ẹ̀wà G"

17. Àkàrà

    Akara (deep-fried bean balls)

    Usage

    Peeled beans ground, whipped and deep-fried into balls. Sold fresh from the pan on the roadside in the morning, classically with ògì or ẹ̀kọ

    Grammar Note

    The seller is an alákàrà. Do not confuse it with àkàrà òyìnbó, which means a European-style cake

18. Mọ́ínmọ́ín

    Moin moin (steamed bean pudding)

    Usage

    Ground beans blended with onion, pepper and palm oil, then steamed in leaves or tins. Boiled egg or dried shrimp is often set inside

    Grammar Note

    The same dish is also called ọ̀lẹ̀lẹ̀, and the name is often written hyphenated as mọ́í-mọ́í

19. Èkuru

    Ekuru (plain steamed bean cake)

    Usage

    The same beans as moin moin, steamed white without oil or pepper. Eaten with fried pepper sauce (ata díndín) spooned over it

    Grammar Note

    Also called ofúlójú. The same spelling names a plant (Waltheria indica), so use it in a food context

20. Dòdò

    Dodo (fried plantain)

    Usage

    Ripe plantain sliced and fried — the sweet side that comes with jollof rice or stewed beans

    Grammar Note

    Watch the final tone: dòdò (low-low) is fried plantain, while dòdo (low-mid) names the poisonous plant Rauvolfia vomitoria. Keep both syllables low when you mean food

21. Bọ̀ọ̀lì

    Boli (roasted plantain)

    Usage

    Plantain roasted in its skin over charcoal and sold at the roadside, classically eaten with groundnuts (ẹ̀pà)

    Grammar Note

    The counterpart of fried dòdò: the same plantain, but roasted, gets its own name bọ̀ọ̀lì

22. Súyà

    Suya (spiced grilled meat skewers)

    Usage

    Skewered meat rubbed with groundnut powder and chilli, grilled over charcoal and sold from evening stalls. Not safe if you have a peanut allergy

    Grammar Note

    A loan from Hausa in the north. Served with raw sliced onion.

23. Àsun

    Asun (peppered roast goat)

    Usage

    Roast goat chopped into bite-size pieces and tossed with chilli and onion — a drinking snack, and a hot one

    Grammar Note

    The verb sun (to roast) with the nominalizing prefix à-: "the roasted thing". Formed like àsáró

24. Pọ̀nmọ́

    Ponmo (cow skin)

    Usage

    Processed and boiled cow skin, added to soups and stews for its chewy texture. Check for it if you avoid meat

    Grammar Note

    Tone separates two words: pọ̀nmọ́ (low-high) is cow skin, pọnmọ (mid-mid) is the verb "to carry a child on the back"

25. Búrẹ́dì Agege

    Agege bread (dense sweet loaf)

    Usage

    A dense, sweet loaf from Agege in Lagos State that stretches when you pull it. Cheap, filling, and the standard partner for Ẹ̀wà Àgànyìn

    Grammar Note

    The place name is written Agege without tone marks; búrẹ́dì itself is a loan from English

Browse all TravelPhrases languages