A: Atassi- A rice and bean dish served with an oily, concentrated tomato sauce called dja. Made by boiling beans and then at a certain point adding rice to the same pot. Eaten for breakfast or lunch with a boiled egg, fried fish, or fried local cheese.
B: Bouille- Porridge usually made from corn in the south but can also be made from millet or sorghum. Sweetened with sugar and eaten for breakfast or as a snack with roasted peanuts or some form of fried dough.
C: Condiments- Anything added to a sauce that adds flavor. The most popular condiments are garlic, ginger, black pepper, local mustard, chicken bouillon cube, salt, bay leaf, hot pepper, and onion.
D: Dokon (“doko”) - A classic fried dough ball eaten by itself or with bouille. Made with white flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.
E : Ekuli- The word in Adja for a type of legume that is boiled and then flavored with oil, hot peppers, and onions. It is served with gari or rice. Other beans such as black-eyed peas, red beans, and round chick peas are prepared and served in the same way.
F : FanMilk- a brand of ice cream, yogurt, and fruit-flavored frozen treats. Sold on the street from coolers on bikes or carts. Flavors include chocolate, vanilla, orange, and cocktail.
G : Gari- Locally made, course cassava (manioc) flour. Made from peeled and grated cassava tubers, then pressed, left to ferment, dried and sifted. Eaten with water and sugar as a snack with roasted peanuts or kluie kluie (see below). Also made into a form of pâte called piron.
H: Hot pepper- Small red peppers added fresh, dried, or in powder form in just about every savory Beninese dish. If fresh or dried, the peppers are ground into a paste with water with a grinding stone and then added to sauces.
I: Igname pilé- A popular dish in northern and central Benin made from pounded African yams. The yams are boiled and then pounded in a large mortar by multiple people until it is similar to the consistency of dense, sticky mashed potatoes. Eaten with one’s hands and served with peanut, melon seed, or palm nut sauce and either cheese, meat, or fish.
J: Jus- Means “juice” or “gravy” in French. A simple accompaniment for rice, couscous, and other starches made from cooked onions and tomatoes. Flavored with chicken bouillon cube, salt, and hot pepper.
K: Kluie Kluie- Fried peanut butter snacks served with gari and bouille. Roasted peanuts are made into a paste which is then worked by hand until it resembles peanut butter. Then some corn flour is added and the dough is rolled into either sticks or rounds and then fried.
L: Légume- Represents any leafy green that is cooked and made into sauce. Some are bitter, some become slimy, and others are more like spinach. The leaves are washed and boiled, then cut up and cooked with condiments.
M: Mango – There are two types found in Benin. One is small and very stringy and the other is large and grafted, like the ones sold in the United States. When in season they are sold everywhere very cheaply. Children can be seen climbing trees in search of ripe fruit, and mango pits and scattered all over the ground.
N : Nescafé- The main type of coffee sold in Benin. It comes in small cans in instant form. It is served in cafeterias with lots of sweetened condensed milk.
O : Omelette- A dish served for breakfast or dinner mostly at cafeterias. Made with onions, hot peppers, and tomatoes and fried. Can be eaten with a baguette as a sandwich or with spaghetti and a spicy tomato sauce.
P : Pâte- By far the most popular dish in Benin. Corn flour is mixed with water, then boiled, stirred and mixed with more corn flour until thick and firm. Eaten with one’s hands and served with sauce plus fish, meat, or cheese any time of the day. Other forms include pâte rouge made with corn flour but with pureed tomatoes and condiments mixed in, and pâte noir made from dried yam flour.
Q : Quaker- A popular brand of oatmeal sold in Benin. If you want to buy oatmeal in the market it is called “Quaker” (with a French accent) no matter what brand they sell. Mostly eaten by foreigners or the upper class.
R : Riz au gras- “Greasy rice”. A rice dished made by adding oil, tomatoes, and condiments while with rice is cooking. Served mostly for special occasions. Vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, and peas can be added as well as fish, boiled eggs, meat, or cheese.
S : Sauce- An accompaniment to just about every dish. The most popular are tomato, melon seed, peanut, leafy greens (legume), okra, and palm nut.
T : Tomato- The most readily available and consumed vegetable in Benin. They are about the size of the cherry or grape tomatoes in the states. To make sauce, they are crushed and pureed with a grinding stone before being added.
U : Upside-down cake- A cake that is very easy to make in Benin with pineapple. Delicious!
V : Vegetables- The most common vegetables you can find in marchés are leafy greens, tomatoes, and okra. Some marchés also sell vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, cucumber, eggplant, cabbage, green beans, and green peppers. However these are much more expensive and harder to find.
W : Wagashi-Cheese made locally by a group of people called the Fulani, or Peuhl in French. They raise cattle for milk and cheese. More prevalent in northern Benin. It is served cut up and fried.
X: Xtra food- When buying produce in the marchés vendors will give a “cadeau” or gift of a few extra of whatever you are buying in hopes that you will come back and buy from her again.
Y: Yam frites- One of many fried snack foods sold in the early evening. Usually sold alongside fried sweet potatoes, plantains, and bean flour beignets with hot pepper and onion sauce.
Z: Zaatar- A Middle Eastern spice mix. In Cotonou, there are many Lebanese restaurants that sprinkle it on their dishes that volunteers love to eat when they want a change from Beninese food.
