Real African Food

But what missionaries LOVE is real African food! Things you've never heard of before, like pounded yam and egusi soup. Yams are white (unlike our orange ones) and are boiled and pounded, much like mashed potatoes, but with a thicker consistancy. See wad above. The egusi soup is made from egusi seeds - they look like pumpkin seeds and are ground like flour. Also included in the soup are cow skins, fish heads, water leaves, bitter leaves ( like spinach), smoked fish, ground crayfish and palm oil floating on top. Dessert is rare.....Nigerians don't like sweets.

The way it's eaten is quite unique, also. You take a large marble-size piece of yam in your hand. Roll it around a little to smooth it up, dip it into the soup to get as much on it as you can, then you pop it in your mouth and swallow without chewing. They say the really good, hot (as in spicy) kinds will make you sweat. (I ask you, is that a good thing?) The advantage of this method is that you don't need utensils - just a wash bowl for cleaning your fingers later. Notice the ground up yellowish egusi seeds in the bowl, the red palm oil and a turkey wing.

{Try not to notice the wrist bling.}

This is another favorite, Vegetable Soup. (Pronounced with a long A). Are there any vegetables you recognize? I didn't think so. This soup is well known for its slime factor. (Their word, not mine.) The slimier the better. They really like the texture. You can also dip your pounded yam in this if you want, pour it over rice, or eat it by itself.
These and other similar soups are the mainstays of missionary diets. They mix up a huge batch on Mondays and then leave the leftovers in the pot. Since most don't have refrigeration it just sits on the counter all week and they boil it a few minutes before dinner each night and VIOLA! "Food is Ready!"

These are wooden yam pounders. They actually look like a huge mortar and pestle. They're a must for every African kitchen.