Characteristic products and eating habits
The staple of the Beninese diet is what's known as "paste", made from a variety of flours, depending on the region, such as corn, cassava (gari) or yam flour. Reduced to a powder or purée of varying fineness, these starches are generally molded into a ball shape and steamed. The paste itself has a rather bland taste, but it is spiced up with sauces of all kinds.
Corn and manioc are more often served in the south, while sorghum, millet and yam are more common in the drier north. Locals are also very fond of amon soja, an equivalent of tofu, very rich in vegetable proteins, which is most often fried. Finally, wagashi is a cow's milk cheese, vaguely resembling mozzarella, preserved with a red wax. It is generally eaten fried.
Beef, pork, mutton, lamb, poultry and rabbit are the most popular meats in Benin. Local agriculture is still largely traditional, and what the locals call bicycle chicken is to be found everywhere, in other words, a bird that runs around and whose flesh is very firm, unlike the frozen chicken often imported from Europe. Some foods may seem more unsettling to our Western palates, such as kpanman, dried and smoked beef hide, which is added to sauces and stews, bringing a rich flavor and slightly rubbery texture.
The fish-filled coasts offer a wide variety of fish, from the highly prized sea bream to tuna, skippers and mackerel, not to mention seafood such as prawns, crabs and lobsters. As you head north, fish and shellfish disappear, with the exception of freshwater fish such as tilapia and carp, caught in the Niger. Fish, often dried and smoked, is commonly used as a condiment.
It is possible to find restaurants serving bush meat. These include agouti, a large rodent found near the lakes and rivers of the coastal plain. It is sold fried or smoked on markets in the south-west of the country. Agouti with peanut sauce is a dish worth discovering. However, while tasting bushmeat can be an experience in itself, it is advisable to consume it in moderation, for both health and ecological reasons. Indeed, the supply chains for such products are sometimes rather obscure, and some of the meat sold in markets and specialized restaurants comes from species threatened with extinction.
Beninese cuisine is richly spiced, with generous use of ginger, garlic, bay leaves, pepper, turmeric, peppermint, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander, fennel, dill, cloves and, of course, chili pepper, which is abundantly used to spice up local dishes that can be very hot. African mustard, called afitin or irù, is made from fermented néré seeds, a local tree.
When it comes to restaurants and eating habits, the maquis is the local restaurant par excellence. This type of small street food establishment offers visitors mainly starch-based dishes. In a maquis, you choose your dish from the pots simmering under the watchful eye of the cook. At the table, cutlery is generally dispensed with, and you eat with your fingers, which can sometimes be more convenient for skinning grilled meat. A bowl of water with soap is presented at the start of the meal. In most maquis and restaurants, it's the side dish that takes precedence over the meat or fish. Menus include "rice with fish", "spaghetti with chicken" and "couscous with chicken". Note that couscous refers only to wheat semolina.
Some maquis along the coast, lakes and rivers offer excellent grilled fish. In larger towns such as Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Parakou, restaurants offer more elaborate cuisine, including European dishes. Most hotels also have their own restaurant. For a more authentic experience, take to the markets and roadside markets, where you'll find stalls brimming with tropical fruit and take-away food.
The classics of Beninese cuisine
Local gastronomy revolves around a variety of starchy pastes. These include we or akumè, made from white maize. Amiowo or amio is made with corn and red palm oil. Finally, akassa is a fermented corn paste, usually served in the form of balls. Agoun is the Beninese equivalent of fufu, made from yams boiled and reduced to a compact purée. Telibo, on the other hand, is a paste made from yam cossettes (dried yam slices reduced to flour) that are boiled. Gari (finely ground cassava) is used to prepare bà or piron. Although it originated in southern Côte d'Ivoire, atiéké (steamed cassava semolina) has become a national dish in Benin.
This pasta is accompanied by a wide range of sauces, some of which are more akin to stews. Blokoto sauce contains beef feet and tail, tomato and hot peppers, while vegetable sauce (manh tindjan) is made from a mixture of gboma (African eggplant) leaves, crab or meat, and various condiments. The term "glutinous sauce" refers to sauces thickened with vegetables that produce viscous juices, such as okra, a green vegetable used to prepare febi, a spicy sauce. Ninnouwi, or crincrin, is also a glutinous sauce made from vegetable coret - a leafy vegetable - as well as crab, smoked fish and chili pepper. Fonman is a sauce made from young shoots of Vitex doniana, a local tree with bitter leaves, accompanied by beef skin, tomato and chili pepper. Finally, the very popular moyo sauce is uncooked and made with diced tomatoes, onions and vinegar-coated chillies.
There are many savoury snacks to be devoured as an afternoon snack, usually served with chilli pepper. These include fried yams (tévi), white bean fritters (ata), fried plantains (aloko) and banana fritters (alé talé), not to mention klui-klui, peanut crackers in the shape of sticks, balls or corkscrews.
A speciality of the Porto-Novo region, kpètè is a sauce made from mutton or pork blood that accompanies grilled meat and is served with a variety of pastas. Finally, dakouin is a gari - cassava paste - topped with fish in a spicy tomato sauce. It's a popular dish around Lake Ahémé in south-west Benin, a region rich in fish and shellfish. Small fried fish drizzled with lemon juice, smoked shrimps and crabs can be purchased on the roadside in southern Mono.
Desserts and drinks
There are very few traditional Beninese desserts, although there are a few Western pastry shops in the big cities. These include yovo doko, wheat-flour fritters in the shape of dumplings, served sprinkled with sugar, or atchonmons, crunchy wheat-flour fritters flavored with nutmeg. Unless you prefer dèguè or thiakry, a dessert made with millet couscous and yoghurt or sometimes curdled milk. This snack is rich in proteins, minerals and vitamins. And, of course, we can't forget the succulent, sun-drenched tropical fruits: pineapple, guava, mango, orange, banana, mandarin orange, papaya and more.
Locally bottled beverages include Possotomé water, Fizzi fruit juice (with grapefruit or tropical fruit), and Béninoise, a light beer served in 66-centiliter bottles. You can also order Flag, a Moroccan beer that is drunk throughout West Africa. Other beers include Castel, also from Morocco, and Beaufort, from Cameroon, which is the beer of choice among young people in Benin. Tchouk" or "tchoukoutou" is a sorghum or millet beer traditionally produced by the Bétammaribé ethnic group, and is therefore more easily found in the Atakora region. Initially served for ceremonies, notably funerals, this alcohol is now prized in West Africa for its low cost, unlike imported beers. It is normally served at room temperature in a small calabash. There's also tchapalo (a fermented drink made from corn and caramelized sugar) and adoyo (a fermented drink made from corn, flavored with lemon and lemongrass). And let's not forget bissap (an icy, sweet drink made from hibiscus flowers).
Sodabi is the best-known craft alcohol. This palm wine-based eau-de-vie is made by fermenting and distilling the sap of several local palm species. It is an extremely strong alcohol, which was banned from sale in the north of the country a few years ago because it was accused of causing serious health problems. It is still sometimes banned during election periods, even if it is sold under other names to get around the ban. However, sodabi is drunk at every festival, and often accompanies births, weddings, first communions and funerals, and is considered a prestigious gift or even part of the dowry. Although an overwhelming proportion of production remains artisanal, some companies are trying to produce it industrially. Such is the case of Distillerie Béninoise with its sodabi Tambour Original.
