Vegetarian recipes from Nigeria

In Nigeria the meatless side of the table rests first on pulses and starches. Black eyed peas, soaked then peeled and ground, give two dishes from the same batter depending on the cooking: fried into fritters for akara, steamed in a leaf or a mould for moi moi. Red palm oil is fat, colour and flavour at once; groundnut and egusi melon seeds bring richness and protein to thick soups such as vegetarian egusi soup. The aromatics are constant: onion, scotch bonnet chilli, tomato, red pepper, ginger, and bitter or mild greens by season.

A meal is built on a simple pair: a starchy base and a thick sauce to dip it in. Long grain rice cooked in a puree of tomato, pepper and onion makes jollof rice, a dish for feasts as much as weekdays, and the crust at the bottom of the pot is prized. Seed soups are eaten with a hand shaped swallow of cassava, yam or maize. Away from meals, frying has its own place: puff puff, a yeasted batter fried into balls, is sold in the street, and bean fritters are eaten at breakfast with millet or maize porridge.