[Mhiz Rebecca]

Nigerian cuisine consists of delicious and
mouthwatering dishes from the many ethnic groups in
Nigeria. Nigerian cuisines typically involve the use of
spices and herbs with palm oil or groundnut oil to
make varieties of deliciously flavoured foods, often
spiced with chilli peppers. However, there are some of
our mouth-watering Nigerian foods that actually have
foreign origins. Jumia Travel, the leading online travel
agency, shares 4 Nigerian foods with foreign origins.
Jollof Rice
All Nigerians are probably very familiar with the ‘Jollof
wars’ by now and though which country’s Jollof rice is
the best remains a topic of passionate debate, there is
one interesting fact about Jollof rice that might be
unknown by many – Jollof rice is actually of foreign
origin. The origins of Jollof rice can be traced to the
Senegambian region that was ruled by the Jolof empire.
Fried Rice
This probably wouldn’t come as a shock to many but
Fried rice is another food with foreign origin that has
been adopted by Nigerians to become one of the
popular Nigerian cuisines. The exact origins of fried rice
has actually been lost to history but it is believed to be
of Chinese origin, invented sometime within the Sui
Dynasty (589 – 618 AD), in the city of Yangzhou in the
eastern Jiangsu province.
Coconut Rice
Over time, this dish has become a beloved dish of
many seeking something different from the
conventional white rice. Coconut rice is typically
prepared by soaking white rice in coconut milk or
cooking it with coconut flakes. Though coconut rice is
found in many cultures of the world, it is believed to
have its origins in the South Asia, Southeast Asia and
Latin America regions.
Corn Soup
This is locally referred to as ‘Omi Ukpopka’ and is a
common food of the Afemai people in northern Edo
state. Though the Afemai’s people’s version of the
meal is exclusive to them, the origin of meal ‘corn
soup’ can actually be traced to the Native Americans.
Corn soup was a popular dish of the Native Americans
mainly due to the fact that corn was a staple crop for
many Native American tribes. Asides the Nigerian ‘Omi
Ukpoka’, there are other variations of the corn soup
which include: creamed corn soup, sweet corn soup,
corn crab soup, Chinese sweet corn soup, dried Indian
corn soup, Mexican corn soup and Tibetan style corn
soup.