on eating

i am currently learning how to speak hausa in my final days in jos. i have picked up a few phrases, but the most important and most frequently used phrase i have mastered has to be bana cin nama, meaning i do not eat meat. i'm a vegetarian, and to be frank, it is quite difficult to eat well in nigeria.

nigerians eat pounded yam, simply put. this requires a giant mortar and pestle that is the size of a child and more strength than i can ever muster up. it's quite a process. after the yam is pounded, it is grainy and powdery. next, it is placed in boiling hot water until it is thick and smooth. yam is also eaten in different forms like fried yam, but pounded yam is the one item that every local answers with when i ask, "what is your favorite thing to eat?" i've had pounded yam, and my taste buds do not find it all that impressive. it is usually eaten with "soup" which is basically a stew usually with a fish-based stock and other mystery items. there are several different "soups." first of all, vegetable soup has meat in it. a lot of meat. i was tricked into this at the local restaurant across the street from my flat. it sometimes has fish bones. add a lot of palm oil (nigerians love to cook with this), some spices, maybe tomatoes, onions, and some leaves i have yet to identify. voila! vegetable soup. it was ok when i had it, but the fish thing really got to me towards the end of my meal. vary the soups a little: a favorite is pepper soup, which is actually pretty tasty, save the goat head. it's not so fishy as other soups. you can probably guess the main ingredient of melon seed soup; just grind up the seeds and add them in with meat and spices.

all of the soups are eaten with a starchy carbohydrate. this makes your meal extremely heavy and most nigerians do not eat many times a day (as i do). they believe their diets make them strong to work all day. i've already mentioned pounded yam. other favorites are gari (a grain that has a similar consistency as pounded yam when prepared) and sumavita.

the proper way to eat it with your hands. at restaurants or "chop houses" (chop means to eat or it refers to food. eg. chop is ready or come chop pounded yam), there is a bowl with clean water where you can wash your hands before and after you eat. do not expect a menu or a reliable one, anyway. you just need to ask what food or chop is ready. when there is a sign saying food is ready it means the meals for the day are prepared. food is very cheap in your average local restaurants. maybe about a US dollar for a giant meal.

jollofrice is also a popular dish, which is fried rice with many spices in it. it usually comes with a giant piece of meat, but i eat around that.

breakfast is more vegetarian friendly. usually bean cakes and a type of custard are eaten. also, eggs and chips are a favorite (omelettes and french fries). and oatmeal is readily available. tea and bread is usually served, also. for you coffee addicts, do not expect fresh ground beans. the readily available nescafe instant coffee is what you will probably end up drinking. milk also comes in powdered or condensed form (good for coffee and tea). if you are in a city, like jos, you can easily pick up cereal at a grocery store. breakfast is my most favorite meal of the day. our cook, baba, makes excellent crepe style pancakes every saturday morning. fruit is readily available. mango season just ended, sadly enough. but they have plenty of bananas, oranges (which are not orange), apples, plantains (fried plantains are one of my favorite things to eat here), watermelon, and even avocados.

however, my situation is a bit different than most in that we have a wonderful cook, baba sunday (baba is a generic term for a grandfather or an elderly man). he prepares western dishes for us, including pasta, mac and cheese, and garlic mashed potatos. also, he loves making cous cous and curry.

as far as meat, i can write about what i've been told. goat is very popular here, as there are many goats walking around the streets. the cows are all strangely thin. nigerians like their meat very tough. they like their chicken deep fried.

there are plenty of restaurants in jos that are a bit more "high end." afri one is an excellent western style restaurant that serves fresh salads and our personal favorite: hummus and pita bread. they also have ice cream and a great bakery. there are also lebanese and chinese restaurants in town.

there is also street food. my favorite is boiled corn. they also roast it and eat it with coconut for some reason. ground nuts or shelled peanuts are also a local favorite. i always eat buns, which are basically fried dough. all of the street food is extremely cheap and if you are careful about which places you patronize and what types of food you eat, you should be ok in the GI department.

my favorite local nigerian dish is goti, which is made from a seed called acha. there is no oil or meat used and you add ground nuts, spices, nigerian spinach, and other ingredients that escape me. it's like a spicy porridge and it's very tasty. however, i find that many locals do not like goti for some reason. they are all about the pounded yam and fish head goat something or other.

as for drinks, all the local drinks i have tried have not been very tasty, at least for me. i usually just drink water or mineral (aka soda, which is very cheap here). there is also good juice.

in abuja, there is a little rumor that there is a thai restaurant. this means i know what my dinner will be before i fly out to london.