Baku Kitchen! An independent reference of traditional food

Benin

Benin’s food is built around corn doughs with tomato sauces, fried wagashi cheese, peanut kuli-kuli and ceremonial palm spirit sodabi. Look for Amiwo (red corn dough cooked in tomato-pepper broth, paired with chicken), Wagashi (fulani cow’s-milk cheese fried and simmered in spicy tomato sauce) and Kuli-kuli (crunchy fried peanut-paste rings and sticks). A Fon festive dish of maize dough cooked directly in a red tomato and palm-oil sauce, served with chicken at ceremonies in Abomey. This atlas has 30 Benin dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.

30 dishes.

AbloAbloSteamed sweet fermented rice cakes sold with fried fishAfitinAfitinFermented African locust bean seeds, dark and pungent, dropped whole into saucesAkaraAkaraBlack-eyed pea fritters fried in palm oilAkassaAkassaTangy fermented corn dough wrapped in leaves, base for saucesAkpanAkpanTart fermented maize drink thinned with water and sugared over iceAlokoAlokoFried ripe plantain cubes with chiliAmiwoAmiwoRed corn dough cooked in tomato-pepper broth, paired with chickenAtassiAtassiRice and beans cooked together, eaten with pepper sauce and fried plantainAulacodeAulacodeCane rat smoked and stewed in sauce, the most prized bush meatBissapBissapDried hibiscus calyces steeped with sugar, mint or ginger and drunk very coldDèguèDèguèMillet couscous in sweetened yoghurtDokounouDokounouFermented maize dough steamed in leaf parcels, unwrapped hot and eaten with sauceGariGariToasted cassava granules soaked in water or sprinkled over beansGari fotoGari fotoMoistened gari tossed with tomato, onion and scrambled eggIgname piléeIgname piléeFestive pounded yam with peanut or tomato saucesKuli-kuliKuli-kuliCrunchy fried peanut-paste rings and sticksLanhouinLanhouinSea fish salted and fermented until strongly aromatic, used in small seasoning piecesMassaMassaSmall spongy pancakes of fermented rice or millet batter, fried in dimpled pansMawèMawèSour fermented maize dough, the mother base for akassa and drinksMoyoMoyoFresh tomato-onion-chili sauce spooned over fried fishPalm winePalm wineSweet-then-sour sap tapped from the oil palm, drunk the day it runsSauce gomboSauce gomboSlippery okra sauce with crab or smoked fishSodabiSodabiArtisanal palm liquor born in Benin, poured at ceremoniesSonruSonruFermented seed condiment shaped into balls and crumbled into stews for depthTchoukoutouTchoukoutouCloudy sour sorghum beer drunk warm from calabashesTéliboTéliboNear-black swallow of dried yam flour eaten with okra or peanut sauceWagashiWagashiFulani cow's-milk cheese fried and simmered in spicy tomato sauceWassa-wassaWassa-wassaSteamed couscous of dried yam flour, eaten with peanut sauce or stewYovo dokoYovo dokoSweet fried dough balls sold roadsideZomiZomiRed palm oil heated with onion and spices into a fragrant cooking oil

  • Ablo

    Steamed sweet fermented rice cakes sold with fried fish. Ready in 20 min prep and 20 min cooking. 12 cakes.…

  • Afitin

    Fermented African locust bean seeds, dark and pungent, dropped whole into sauces. Ready in 5 minutes prep and in the…

  • Akpan

    Tart fermented maize drink thinned with water and sugared over ice. Ready in 30 min prep and 30 min cooking.…

  • Akassa

    Tangy fermented corn dough wrapped in leaves, base for sauces. Ready in 30 min prep and 40 min cooking. Makes…

  • Akara

    Black-eyed pea fritters fried in palm oil. Ready in 25 min prep and 20 min cooking. About 18 fritters. A…

  • Aloko

    Fried ripe plantain cubes with chili. Ready in 10 min prep and 15 min cooking. 4 servings. A street food…

  • Atassi

    Rice and beans cooked together, eaten with pepper sauce and fried plantain. Ready in 15 min prep and 1 hr…

  • Aulacode

    Cane rat smoked and stewed in sauce, the most prized bush meat. Ready in 30 min prep and 2 hr…

  • Bissap

    Dried hibiscus calyces steeped with sugar, mint or ginger and drunk very cold. Ready in 10 minutes prep and 15…

  • Dèguè

    Millet couscous in sweetened yoghurt. Ready in 20 minutes prep and 30 minutes cooking. Serves 6. A dessert recipe from…