Exploring West African Spices to Add Bold Flavors to Your Menu Lineup

West Africa encompasses a vast and diverse region, with each country’s unique culture and history influencing its cooking practices. Despite these differences, the cuisines of West Africa share a vibrant culinary tradition marked by bold West African spices and distinct flavors.

With the help of spice expert Abena Foli, founder of POKS Spices , we are going to break down the West African flavor profile, highlight ingredients commonly used in the region, and showcase how you can integrate these bold flavors into your cooking.

Profiling the Flavors of West African Spices

The West African flavor profile is characterized by savoriness, punching heat and aromatic spices. “It’s bold flavors, it’s strong, you will smell it,” Foli explains, describing the profile.

“Some type of heat spice is very common throughout the West African region,” she remarks. “Typically, you have savory, and so even with the heat that we have, it’s more of a savory spice, and you also have smokiness. So, a lot of our Indigenous peppers tend to be smoky in flavor.”

Pungency is another prominent flavor. “One spice that can be termed as pungent is the locust bean,” she begins. “Locust bean is called dawadawa in Ghana or Iru in Nigeria . So, that is a fermented product, and it has more of an umami taste when you cook with it.”

“We also use a lot of herbs,” Foli continues. “You’re going to have ingredients like grains of selim, alligator pepper, and you’re going to have some type of cloves.”

The combination of hot, savory, smoky, and pungent creates the fragrant aroma and striking flavors that define many of the region’s cuisines. Though spices can vary from culture to culture, there are three in particular that are used widely throughout West Africa.

The Holy Trinity of West African Spices

When discussing the region’s flavor profile, it is important to recognize what Foli refers to as the holy trinity of West African spices—chili, ginger, and garlic. This trio of spices is often used as the base for dishes and spice blends across the region.

“Most meals are going to start with some type of chili or pepper for the heat, you’re going to have ginger for that savory warmth and garlic for the aromatics,” the spice expert notes.

Chilis, or peppers depending on the region, provide heat and smokiness, ensuring every bite packs a punch. Red or green chilis are commonly used to turn up the heat, but cayenne is a great substitute if you are looking to add some kick.

“Ginger is also something that is very common. It’s used liberally or conservatively, and then garlic is also used,” says Foli. Ginger and garlic are aromatic spices, adding a fragrant layer of subtle warmth and pungent flavor to a dish.

Exploring Staple Ingredients

A common staple ingredient often paired with the holy trinity of spices is onions. “Onions are very heavily used in the West African region for the aromatics as well,” Foli notes. “Whether you’re in Senegal, which has a French influence, all the way to Ghana and Nigeria, which have a British influence, onions are used.”

Tomatoes are another big staple that has found its home in West African cuisines. “It’s interesting because tomatoes were not used a lot in West African cooking until the Transatlantic Slave Trade,” she explains. “Those got imported from South America and brought to West Africa, but a lot of our dishes have tomatoes now.”

“We tend to incorporate a lot of greens into our cuisine as well,” shares the Texas-based food scientist. Leafy greens like waterleaf, spinach, amaranth and cassava leaves add a rich earthy flavor. “It’s also for nutritional purposes as well because those greens have a lot of nutrients.”

Integrating the Flavors

Many different components make up the West African flavor profile, raising the question of where to start incorporating these flavors into your cooking. Fortunately, POKS Spices has us covered with a line of West African spice blends to get us started.

POKS Spices is a West African spice company co-founded by Foli and her husband to bring the bold flavors of the region to the global palate. Currently, they offer three spice blends that are available for purchase in their online shop.

“We have the jollof rice seasoning, which is built on the top notes from the West African region,” says Foli. She describes it as having the top flavor notes you would taste in a typical Senegalese, Nigerian, or Ghanaian Jollof rice.

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“We have a red chili seasoning which leans into the savory, spicy notes that I mentioned before that you would tend to find in Ghana and Nigeria. We like our savory spice, we like our heat, we like that bold spice where you eat and you’re like, ‘It’s spicy, but I want more’—so that’s what we are bringing with that spice,” she says jokingly.

“We also have our green chili seasoning, and with that, we are leaning heavily into notes from the Senegambia region,” she explains. “It’s more of an herbal, fruity, spicy, nutty, and that’s what we are bringing with our green chili seasoning.”

For more about West African spices and flavors, visit POKS Spices online and follow them on Instagram for recipes to add a taste of boldness to your menu lineup.

This story originally appeared in Cuisine Noir Magazine