The Best Cooking Tribe in Nigeria (2024)

If you are Nigerian, you can at least testify of Nigerian vast tantalizing dishes. With just 371 different tribes in the country, there are various foods common to all tribes in Nigeria and also diverse. Nigeria’s best foods and delicacies are many, so alos is the great reserve of rich cultural diversity. This diversity definitely reflects in the various dishes served across the country.

All these tribes boast of their own different dishes; notwithstanding, there is always one that is set apart. In the course of this article, we would be looking at the best cooking tribes in Nigeria. So without any bias, I will reveal the tribe in our country that has the best delicacies.

If we would want to give credit to the best cooking tribe, we would consider some factors. Some of these factors might arouse a lot of criticism, and I don’t mind. In the light of these, feel free to pour out your thoughts using the comment section down below.

As stated earlier, the criteria for awarding the best cooking tribe in Nigeria include; the popularity of the dish outside its own tribe and how many non-tribe members in Nigeria consume the food, especially in restaurants littered across the country.

THE BEST COOKING TRIBE IN NIGERIA

Without bias, the tribe regarded as the best cooking tribe in Nigeria are the Igbos. This is so because the delicacies prepared by the Igbo ethnic group is by far the most popular outside its domain, delicious, most ordered and can be found in most Nigerian restuarants where food are sold both locally and internationally.

So in subsequent paragraphs, we would do an overview of the foods that have given the igbos this pride.

FOODS THAT MADE THE IGBO TRIBE THE BEST COOKING TRIBE IN NIGERIA

OFE OKRA

This is without any doubt the cheapest dish to prepare in Nigeria. It is very nutritious, mouth-watering, and provoke mal-table habits like finger-licking. Okra is one of the most consumed, meals in Nigeria. As a plus, Okra that is used in preparing this dish has a lot of medicinal properties. It is in this light that I would Infer that Okra soup is very medicinal.

BENEFITS OF CONSUMING OKRA SOUP

Okra has a very high nutrient profile

It contains lots of antioxidants that reduce oxidative stress that can lead to quick ageing

• Did you know that Okra lowers the risk of heart diseases?
• They may even contain agents that help reduce the onset of cancer. Oncogenes are responsible for triggering cancer onset. Okra with its rich metabolic profile, help suppress the expression of this gene.
• They lower blood sugar
• Finally, since my childhood, I have been hearing this tale about okra is beneficial to pregnant women.

OFE EGWUSI

Egwusi soup as the name implies is gotten from melon seeds. Then the style of preparation differs with respect to different states of origin. The people in Abia prepare Egwusi soup in a way known as Akpuruakpu Egwusi.

BENEFITS OF EGWUSI CONSUMPTION

The following are the list of benefits you can accrue from consuming egwusi

1. Improves Appetite
2. Prevent Anemia
3. Good for Bones
4. Prevents Malnutrition
5. Promotes Heart Health
6. Improves Vision
7. Reduces Inflammation
8. Helps in Digestion
9. Helps in Digestion
10. Antioxidant properties

OFE ONUGBU

Onugbu, as the name implies, is derived from the English word bitter leaf. Here is one irony, after well preparing the Onugbu dish, it doesn’t have a bitter taste. This food is very popular in southeastern states like Enugu and Anambra. Onugbu soup has a lot of health benefits.

INGREDIENTS USED IN PREPARING BITTER LEAF SOUP

• Bitterleaf
• Cocoyam
• Stockfish
• Ogiri (is optional)
• Meat
• Palm oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Crayfish
• Variant fish

HEALTH BENEFITS OF ONUGBU SOUP

1. To a great extent, they reduce the blood sugar content of the body
2. They are effective in treating fever.
3. Onugbu soup is also very excellent in helping you regulate your body weight
4. Bitter leaf soup is a powerful detoxifying agent. It assists the liver in reducing the metabolic pressure of xenobiotic metabolism.
5. Finally, they aid in curing pile.

OFE OHA

Ofe Oha according to the Igbos is there most popular dish. It has a lot of benefits.

Oha contains very low levels of hydrogen cyanide and oxalate, which is not harmful to the human body.

LET’S LOOK AT 16 HEALTH BENEFITS OF OFE OHA

• Diarrhoea Management
• Constipation
• Help treat Anaemia
• Help with healthy joints and arthritis
• Good For Heart health
• Reduce Muscle Cramps:
• Improve Brain Function
• Helps build the muscles
• Helps with Blood Pressure
• Improves Eye Health
• Reduces Inflammations
• Helps Alleviate malaria symptoms
• Help Protect the Nervous System
• Boost the energy especially for athletes
• Maintain the alkaline balance of the entire body
• Helps with Collagen Formation

OFE OGBONO

Ogbono is very delicious and mouth-watering. The soup is gotten from the ogbono seeds. You can get the seeds from the Adu seeds and Ugiri tree.

INGREDIENTS FOR PREPARING OFE OGBONO

• Assorted Meat and Fish: Beef, Shaki (cow tripe), Dry Fish, Stockfish
• Ogbono Seeds
• Red palm oil
• Vegetable: Frozen Spinach (you can also use Pumpkin leaves or even Bitterleaf)
• Ground crayfish
• Pepper and Salt (To taste)
• 1 onion
• Seasoning

OFE NSALA

Ofe nsala is a very wonderful and tasty white soup. It is very popular in the riverine and eastern part of Nigeria. This food Is open to everyone but is predominately meant for nursing mothers. It has a lot of medicinal properties.

Unlike other Igbo soups that use palm oil in preparation, Ofe nsala is usually prepared without palm oil.  The absence of palm oil is the core reason why the soup is more appealing to new mothers.

OFE AKWU

Ofe akwu is predominately eaten with white rice. It is a very popular soup in the southeastern and south southern parts of Nigeria.  Another name for Of e akwu is Banga soup. You can take this wonderful dish down the gut road with any of the following; Starch, Pounded Yam, Semolina, Garri and Cassava Fufu.