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Beninese cuisine involves many fresh meals served with a variety of sauces.Meat is usually quite expensive, and meals are generally light on meat and generous onvegetable fat.
In southern Benin cuisine, the most common ingredient iscorn, often used to preparedough which is mainly served withpeanut- ortomato-basedsauces.Fish andchicken are the most common meats used in southern Beninese cuisine, butbeef,pork,goat andbush rat are also consumed. Meats are often fried inpalm orpeanut oil.Rice,beans, tomatoes andcouscous are also significantstaple foods. Fruits are common in this region, includingmangoes,mandarin oranges,oranges,bananas,kiwifruit,avocados,pineapples and peanuts.
Yams are the mainstaple in northern Benin, and are also often served with peanut- or tomato-based sauces. The population in the northern provinces uses beef and pork meat which is also fried in palm or peanut oil or cooked in sauces.Cheese is also frequently used in some dishes.
Frying in palm or peanut oil is the most common meat preparation, andsmoked fish is also commonly prepared in Benin. Grinders are used to preparecorn flour, which is made into a dough and served with sauces. "Chicken on the spit" is a traditional recipe in which chicken is roasted over fire on wooden sticks.Palm roots are sometimes tenderized by soaking in a jar with saltwater and sliced garlic, then used in various dishes.[citation needed]
Many people have mud stoves for cooking and also mud pots which are used to preserve the meal, and mud pots are used to store water; these pots are usually kept outside the home.[citation needed]
Wagasi is a specialty cows'-milk cheese of northern Benin made by the Fulani people, and is abundantly available in cities such asParakou.[1] It is a soft cheese with a mild flavor and a red rind, and used often in Beninese cooking.
Àkàrà is a dish made from peeledblack-eyed peas formed into a ball and then deep-fried inred palm oil. It is found in most parts of Benin,Nigeria andGhana.
Other Beninese dishes include:[1]
Choukoutou or "chouk" is a Beninesemillet beer[1] commonly consumed in northern Benin, and shipped to southern Benin by railway and roadways.Sodabi is a liquor made from wine palm, and often consumed at events and ceremonies.[1]
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