And so here I am, sitting at a Nigerian wedding reception in east London. Would I sound like a terrible person if I told you that the main reason I agreed to attend on short notice was the food? Food is such an important part of Nigerian culture, I knew I would be well fed and entertained. I was not disappointed.

So what did I actually load onto my plate?

Dodo

Fried plantain. Such was the demand, it was being cooked on the spot at the venue. This is something I have not seen before.

Clearly I should going to more Nigerian events!

Jollof rice

You know what this is!

Fried rice

Stir fried reasoned rice with vegetables and meat.

Moin moin

Steamed bean pudding. It is made from pureed black eye beans (with eyes removed) mixed with onions and peppers. Stock, oil and seasonings are added to the mixture. Other additions can be fish, meat or eggs. The number of garnished are sometimes referred to as souls or lives – Moi-Moi elemi meje, seven lives.

Efo riro

A stew made of copious quantities of green vegetables, assorted meats, peppers or tomatoes.

Abula stew

It is a mixture of Gbegiri which is a bean soup, Ewedu a draw soup and Pepper Sauce.

Asaro

Yam porridge/Yam pottage. This dish is made of mashed yam and tomato stew.

This place of food was topped off with an obligatory bottle of Supermalt and accompanied by MC with some ‘classic’ one liners it was a very pleasant evening. And of course nice to be part of the crowd celebrating the start of a couples’ journey into married life. It can be a long hard road – might as well enjoy the food along the way.