The A-Z of food in Freetown

Sierra Leonean food for me has its ups and downs. Some days it can be comforting to drown your sorrows in a greasy bowl of cassava leaves. On other days the very smells make me want to hurl. Glutton that I am, I think I have gone through a fair number of local restaurants in Freetown and have gathered enough culinary expertise to write this bibliography. I’m missing a few letters in between, but I promise to keep eating until the list is complete.

A

Attieke: couscous with fried onions, tomatoes and cucumbers. Served best with grilled barracuda.

B

Banga soup: palmnut stew served with rice

Benachin rice: A Guinean version of jollof rice (see below), spicier.

Banana cake: Deliciously greasy banana muffin.

Bangku: cornmeal dumplings

C

Casaava leaves: The staple food of Sierra Leone. The omnipresent starchy tuberous root that manifests in many forms, cassava curry with rice, cassava bread with fish and even dried cassava chips.

Crain Crain: A slippery leaf cooked like cassava.

Checked rice: Rice mixed with crain crain.

D

E

Ebba: Now I haven’t actually tried this but I’m told it’s a pasty dish made from maize meal (gadi).

Efo: Nigerian spinach soup

F

Foo foo: A thick paste or porridge made from cassava or corn. Very sour and can’t say I care much for it.

Fry soup: Fried balls of onions, tomatoes and peppers, stuffed inside bread and served on the streets.

G

Groundnut soup: My personal favourite. Crushed groundnuts stewed to perfection with fish or meat. Served with rice.

Green Green: I’m told this is a local version of spinach. Again cooked like cassava with meat.

Ginger beer: Available wherever drinks are sold. Very pungent.

H

Humus: Safe bet when all else on a menu sounds dodgy.

I

Ice cream (the street version): Frozen plastic pouches of flavoured milk. Made with milk powder and tastes like sawdust.

J

Jollof rice: Prepared almost like risotto. Rice slow cooked with tomatoes, onions, spices and stock. Served with spicy chicken. Yum.

K

Kebbe: A lemon shaped cutlet deep fried. Normally filled with meat.

L

Lebanese bread: Flat bread available at all the supermarkets.

M

Mina fish: Finger sized fish served deep fried. Great snack food.

Meat pie: English pastry filled with meat.

Mayonnaise: Popular ingredient, liberally ladled onto burgers, sandwiches and even tea according to one source.

N

Nescafe: Quintessential Freetown coffee. Can be purchased from Nescafe carts around every corner. Frothed by juggling between plastic tumblers.

O

Omole: Very strong local gin. Not advisable.

Okra soup: Okra cooked in palm oil with shrimps and beef.

P

Plantain chips: Delicious deep fried plantains served with beef stew.

Potato leaves: Cooked the same as cassava

Pepe soup: Fiery goat stew made with crushed chili peppers. Will burn a hole in your stomach.

Palm wine: Sap from the palm tree. Don’t know what the fuss is about.

Q

R

Rice rice rice: It’s part of almost every meal. Imported from Thailand, India, China.

S

Sauce: all gravies are called sauce.

Snapper: Awesome local fish

Star beer: Light Sierra Leonean beer.

Sawa Sawa: Another leaf, once again cooked like cassava.

T

Tatale: plantain cake

V

Vimto: Sickly sweet soft drink that tastes like fizzy cough syrup. The locals love it.

W

X

Y

Yassa au poulet: West African chicken marinated in lemon, chiles and garlic.

Z