Eba

A stiff, dough-like swallow made by stirring garri (granulated dried cassava) into hot water until it forms a thick, smooth mass. It has a light tang from the fermentation of the garri and a firmer texture than fufu, and is eaten as an accompaniment to soup rather than on its own.

Eaten with the hand, small lumps are broken off and dipped into soup, then swallowed with little chewing. It is paired with almost any Nigerian soup, including egusi, ogbono, okra and vegetable soups, and appears equally at home at a roadside buka and a family dinner table.

Eba is one of the most commonly eaten swallows in Nigeria, found on menus and home tables across almost every region and ethnic group because garri itself is a cheap, shelf-stable staple. No single group can claim it, though it is especially prominent in Yoruba and Igbo households; its popularity is tied to garri's convenience and long history as a cassava-processing method across West Africa.