Glossary


Akara
Fried Black‑eyed Peas (fritters) paste mix with onion,
pepper and salt. Deep fry in hot oil.

African Potash
Native salt used for flavoring and to expedite the cooking
time for some foods.>>top

Atariko		 Small
seeds with very strong scent use as spice in palm fruit/palm
nut soup.

Banga Soup
Soup dish prepared with palm fruit pulp >>top

Beletientien		 Dried
ground herb

Black‑eyed Peas Paste
To prepare Black-eyed Pea paste: Soak the peas or beans
in water for about 3 hours. Remove the skin by rubbing the
peas vigorously between your palms. Drain off the floating
hull or skin. Repeat the process several times until majority
of the peas are hulled. Remove the remaining individually.
Grind or blend into paste and use. Alternatively, there
are commercial powered Black‑eyed Peas. I recommend
“Mimi Worldwide Foods Black-eyed Pea Powder.”
>>top

Black Pepper		 Small
black dried seeds usually ground before use. African black
pepper is similar to European and American black pepper.

Boil
Cook food by bringing water or liquid to boiling point.
>>top

Colander
Sieve with large perforations.

Cooking Oil		 Corn
oil, Granola oil, Fish oil, Groundnut (peanut) oil, Olive
oil, Soybean oil, Vegetable oil, etc. >>top

Dodo
Fried Plantain

Dried Crayfish
Dried shrimp >>top

Dry Fish
General term use for fish, which has been preserved by heat.

Efo
Yoruba term use for green leafy vegetables. >>top

Egidije
Small brown seeds used as spice for palm fruit/palm nut soup.

Egusi
Melon seed
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Fold
Overturning gently in repeated motions.

Frying
Deep Fry: fry food immersed in frying pan half to two‑thirds
full of hot cooking oil. Shallow Fry: fry food in shallow
pan with little cooking oil. Food is usually turned over
to fry other side. >>top

Fufu
Also referred to as foo foo. It is a general term for most
thickened carbohydrate foods made from yam, cocoyam, cassava,
potato, rice, etc.

Groundnut
Peanut >>top

Maggi cube
Bouillon cube made of evaporated seasoned meat extract.
Okazi
‑ Ibo
(Eastern Nigeria) name for the dry leaves of a creeping
plant. >>top

Palm Oil
Red color oil extracted from palm fruits.

Parboil
Boil briefly. >>top

Pepper		 Comes
in different varieties and color. The red dry pepper categories
are available whole or ground. The red dry ground pepper is
very hot and more popular. The fresh pepper is some times
not as hot as the red dry pepper, but they add more flavor
and color to the food. The red pep­per (fresh and dried)
belongs to the Capsicum family.

Plantain
Large “banana” with green color when unripe and
yellow color when ripe. Ripe plantain tastes sweeter than
unripe plantain. >>top

Simmering
Cook in liquid below boiling point.

Smoked Fish
Fish that is thoroughly smoked to give flavor. >>top

Stock Fish
Completely dried fish imported to the West­ African countries.

Sauté
Fry in very small amount of cooking oil.
>>top

Snail
Escargot

Steaming
Cooking by moist heat form boiling water.>>top

Stewing		 Slow
method of cooking by boiling or with simmering heat in a small
amount of liquid.

Stewed Tomatoes
Combination of sliced tomatoes, tomatoes juice, onion, celery
and bell pepper. >>top

Tea‑Bush Leaves
Pungent herb

Yam
African Yam: Root vegetable common in the tropics but, mainly
native and cultivated in Africa. The yam species in West‑Africa
are mainly white and yellow. It is a good source carbohydrate
and contains some protein. The Russet Potato can be substituted
in its place. Sweet Potato is referred to as yam in the United
States and should not be used.

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