Baku Kitchen! An independent reference of traditional food

Sierra Leone

Krio rice-and-plasas culture: pounded cassava-leaf stews, groundnut soup, palm-oil heat and free-flowing poyo palm wine. That is the short version of what Sierra Leone cooks. Look for Cassava leaves (pounded cassava leaves cooked down with palm oil, peanut, fish and meat), Poyo (cloudy fresh palm wine from roadside tappers; the social drink) and Krain krain (slippery jute-leaf sauce with smoked fish and palm oil). Cassava came from Brazil with the Portuguese; Sierra Leoneans eat the leaves as well as the root, pounding them for hours before slow-cooking in palm oil. This atlas has 28 Sierra Leone dishes catalogued below, from everyday cooking to food kept for festivals and special occasions.

28 dishes.

AkaraAkarasweet fried rice-flour and banana cakes; street breakfastAttayaAttayalong social brewing of green tea, poured frothy in small glassesAttiékéAttiékéTangy fermented cassava couscous served with grilled fish and pepper relishBenne cakesBenne cakestoasted sesame seeds set in caramelised sugar and cut into squaresBitterleaf soupBitterleaf soupwashed bitterleaf cooked down with palm oil, fish and meatCassava breadCassava breadKalinago flat cassava loaves baked on griddlesCassava leavesCassava leavespounded cassava leaves cooked down with palm oil, peanut, fish and meatCoconut cookiesCoconut cookiesCrisp fried rounds of flour, coconut and sugar, sold in stacksEgusi soupEgusi soupMelon-seed soup with bitterleaf and assorted meats, eaten with pounded yamFoofooFoofoosour fermented cassava dough eaten with bitterleaf or okra saucesFry fryFry fryPlate of fried potato, plantain, bean akara and fish balls with gravyGariGariToasted cassava granules soaked in water or sprinkled over beansGinger beerGinger beerSharp homemade drink of pounded fresh ginger, lime and sugarGroundnut soupGroundnut soupPeanut soup with chicken, ladled over fufu or omo tuoJollof riceJollof riceRice steamed in smoky tomato-pepper stew base; fierce national prideKanyaKanyapressed peanut, rice and sugar bars; crumbly Krio sweetKola nutKola nutBitter caffeine-rich seed chewed slowly and offered to guests on arrivalKrain krainKrain krainslippery jute-leaf sauce with smoked fish and palm oilOgiriOgiriAsh-grey paste of fermented melon or castor seeds, ferociously pungent in soupsOlelehOlelehsteamed black-eyed-pea and palm-oil pudding wrapped in leavesOmoleOmoleraw spirit distilled from palm wine in village stills, cloudy and strongPepper soupPepper soupfiery clear broth of goat or fish with country peppersPotato leavesPotato leavesSweet potato leaves pounded and stewed in palm oil with fish and meatPoyoPoyocloudy fresh palm wine from roadside tappers; the social drinkRed palm oilRed palm oildeep orange unrefined palm oil, the cooking fat of every stewRice breadRice breaddense sweet loaf of rice flour and mashed bananaRice papRice papthin sour porridge of fermented rice, drunk hot with sugar and milkStar beerStar beerpale lager brewed in Freetown, the country's national beer

  • Akara

    Sweet fried rice-flour and banana cakes; street breakfast. Ready in 20 min prep and 20 min cooking. Makes about 20.…

  • Egusi soup

    Melon-seed soup with bitterleaf and assorted meats, eaten with pounded yam. Ready in 35 min prep and 1 hr 45…

  • Poyo

    Cloudy fresh palm wine from roadside tappers; the social drink. Ready in 1 hr for the tapper prep and 2…

  • Attaya

    Long social brewing of green tea, poured frothy in small glasses. Ready in 10 min prep and 1 hr 30…

  • Benne cakes

    Toasted sesame seeds set in caramelised sugar and cut into squares. Ready in 15 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking.…

  • Bitterleaf soup

    Washed bitterleaf cooked down with palm oil, fish and meat. Ready in 45 minutes, mostly washing prep and 1 hour…

  • Cassava bread

    Kalinago flat cassava loaves baked on griddles. Ready in 3 hr prep and 1 hr cooking. 6 loaves. A bread…

  • Coconut cookies

    Crisp fried rounds of flour, coconut and sugar, sold in stacks. Ready in 30 minutes prep and 25 minutes cooking.…

  • Foofoo

    Sour fermented cassava dough eaten with bitterleaf or okra sauces. Ready in 1 hr prep and 40 min cooking. 4…

  • Fry fry

    Plate of fried potato, plantain, bean akara and fish balls with gravy. Ready in 45 minutes prep and 45 minutes…