Local Dishes

1. Ofe onugbu

   Bitterleaf soup

   Usage

   The signature soup of Anambra, served with pounded yam or garri

   Grammar Note

   "ofe (soup) + main ingredient" is the standard Igbo dish-naming pattern

2. Ofe ọha

   Oha leaf soup

   Usage

   Untoned, ọha also spells the word for "the public"; here it is the tree leaf

3. Ofe egwusi

   Melon seed soup

   Usage

   Thickened with ground melon seed; English menus spell it "egusi"

4. Ofe nsala

   White soup

   Usage

   A peppery soup cooked without palm oil; also written "nsara"

5. Ofe ogbono

   Ogbono soup

   Usage

   Made from ground wild mango seed; famously stretchy and slippery

6. Ofe akwụ

   Palm fruit soup

   Usage

   A red soup from pressed palm fruit; English menus call it "Banga soup"

7. Ofe Owerri

   Owerri soup

   Usage

   A costly festive soup with snails and assorted fish; the town is Owere in Igbo

8. Ofe ọkwụrụ

   Okra soup

   Usage

   Usually written "Okro soup" on English menus

9. Nkwọbi

   Spiced cow foot

   Usage

   Boiled cow foot in palm oil with utazi leaf, served in a wooden bowl as a bar dish

10. Isi ewu

    Spiced goat head

    Usage

    A prestige dish at celebrations; note that "ewu" aimed at a person means "fool"

11. Abacha

    African salad of shredded cassava

    Usage

    Dried shredded cassava dressed with palm oil, served cold; the classic Igbo snack

12. Ụgba

    Fermented oil bean slices

    Usage

    Also called ukpaka; usually mixed into abacha. Untoned it also spells "trouble"

13. Ọkpa

    Steamed bean pudding

    Usage

    Breakfast in Enugu and Nsukka, steamed in leaves; "ọkpa" also means "leg"

14. Ụkwa

    African breadfruit porridge

    Usage

    Expensive because it takes hours to soften; mostly a dry-season dish

15. Ụtara

    Swallow (fufu-type staple)

    Usage

    The general word for pounded staples eaten by hand with soup

16. Akpụ

    Cassava fufu

    Usage

    Fermented cassava dough; the same spelling also means "lump, swelling"

17. Ji asuru asụ

    Pounded yam

    Usage

    Yam pounded in a mortar; the most prestigious swallow to serve with soup

18. Ji akwụkwọ nri

    Yam cooked with vegetables

    Usage

    Home-style yam simmered soft with leafy greens and palm oil

19. Ede na akwụkwọ nri

    Cocoyam cooked with vegetables

    Usage

    Ede (cocoyam) thickens as it cooks and is also used to thicken soups

20. Akịdị na ji

    Black beans with yam

    Usage

    A plain one-pot of beans and yam, often cooked without meat

21. Akara

    Bean fritters

    Usage

    Ground peeled beans deep-fried; a morning street food. Untoned it also spells "mark"

Browse all TravelPhrases languages