What it is
Thinly sliced beef, ram or offal threaded onto sticks, coated in a dry spice mix built on ground groundnut, and grilled over open coals. The spice mix, yaji, is what defines it: peanut, ginger, garlic, cloves and a great deal of chilli.
Key ingredients
- Beef, ram or liver
- Groundnut (yaji spice base)
- Ginger and garlic
- Ground chilli pepper
- Onions and tomatoes to serve
- Vegetable oil
A list of what goes in, not a recipe. Quantities and method vary by household.
How it is eaten
Eaten with the fingers straight from the wrapping, with sliced raw onion, tomato and cabbage, and more yaji for those who want it.
Cultural significance
Suya is Hausa in origin, developed by butcher families in the north, and it travelled south with traders to become the most widespread street food in Nigeria. Almost every neighbourhood in the country has a mai suya working a grill after dark. It is evening food, bought standing up, wrapped in paper with raw onion and extra yaji on the side, and it is one of the few dishes eaten in essentially the same form in every state.
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