Suya or tsire is traditional smoked spiced meat

skewer A skewer is a thin metal or wood stick used to hold pieces of food together. The word may sometimes be used as a metonym, to refer to the entire food item served on a skewer, as in "chicken skewers". Skewers are used while grilling or roasting ...

which originates from Northern Nigeria, Hausa Land and is a popular food item across

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, M ...

. Suya (also pronounced Soya) is a big part of Hausa culture and food and is historically prepared and made by Hausa men 'Mai nama' (not women). Suya is generally made with skewered

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantit ...

, ram, or chicken. Innards such as kidney, liver and

tripe Tripe is a type of edible lining from the stomachs of various farm animals. Most tripe is from cattle, pigs and sheep. Types of tripe Beef tripe Beef tripe is made from the muscle wall (the interior mucosal lining is removed) of a cow's st ...

are also used. The thinly sliced meat is marinated in various spices, which include traditional Hausa dehydrated peanut cookie called 'kwulikwuli', salt, vegetable oil and other spices and flavorings, and then barbecued. There are many variation of Suya in traditional Hausa cooking (such as Balangu, Kilishi etc..), but the most popular being suya. Suya is traditionally served with an extra helpings of dried pepper mixed, traditional hausa spices and sliced onions. It is also traditionally served in Hausa culture with a side serving of Hausa Masa (fermented rice/grain/corn cakes).

Halal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with '' haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification k ...

meat preparation methods are normally used, especially in the northern parts of Nigeria where it originates as is customary with traditional Hausa foods, where the suspicion of nonconformity to Muslim dietary prohibitions in Suya preparation has been known to cause riots. A dried version of Suya is called

Kilishi Kilishi is a version of jerky that originated in Hausaland specifically Niger . It is a dried form of suya, made from cow, sheep or goat meat. Meat Firstly, remove the bone from the cow, sheep or goat meat, Each of the selected muscles is sl ...

. It can be eaten with Masa, Kosai,

Garri In West Africa, ''garri (also known as gari, galli'', or ''gali)'' is the flour of the fresh starchy cassava root. In the Hausa language, ''garri'' can also refer to the flour of guinea corn, maize, rice, yam, plantain and millet. Fo ...

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There is no standard recipe for the production of the complex

mixture of spices Spice mixes are blended spices or herbs. When a certain combination of herbs or spices is called for in a recipe, it is convenient to blend these ingredients beforehand. Blends such as chili powder, curry powder, herbes de Provence, garlic salt, ...

and additives which make up the Suya marinade (called ''Yaji'') and the spice mix served with it. Ingredients may vary according to personal and regional preferences. Although Suya is a traditional Hausa Nigeria dish, it has permeated the Nigerian society, being affordable for all and available everywhere. It has been called a unifying factor in Nigeria. Suya has become a Nigerian national dish with different regions claiming the superiority of their recipe and methods of preparation, but similar grilled meat recipes are common in many West African countries.

References

External links

Suya Meat and Vendor
(Photograph), News Agency of Nigeria.
Suya recipe
{{African cuisine Nigerian cuisine Ghanaian cuisine Grilled skewers Nigerien cuisine Hausa-language culture Cameroonian cuisine Sudanese cuisine

See also

References

External links