Liberian Recipes

Liberian cooking centers on rice, and many people feel a day is not complete without it. It is eaten with thick stews and soups built on palm oil, hot pepper, smoked fish and meat, and leafy greens such as potato greens, cassava leaf and jute leaf. Cassava is the other pillar, boiled and pounded into dumboy (a smooth dough), or ground into flour. Palm butter, made from boiled and mashed palm nuts, is the best-known dish and a fixture of Sundays and holidays. Pepper is part of life, and many tables carry a bowl of fresh hot sauce. Snacks include kala (sweet fried dough balls), fried plantain and roasted peanuts. Baking has its own tradition, from rice bread made with rice flour and ripe banana to sweet cornbread for gatherings. Homemade ginger beer is a common drink, and palm wine is poured at celebrations. Soups and stews are scooped up with a ball of dumboy or spooned over rice.

Staple ingredients

• rice
• cassava
• palm oil and palm nuts
• hot peppers
• smoked and dried fish
• leafy greens
• plantains and bananas
• peanuts

• Soups 1
• Main Dishes 3
• Side Dishes 1
• Breads 1
• Snacks 1
• Sauces, Dips and Condiments 1

Soups

• Liberian Pepper Soup (Spicy Chicken Broth)LR1 h 15 minEasy

Main Dishes

• Palm Butter (Liberian Palm Nut Soup with Chicken and Rice)LR1 h 40 minMedium
• Palava Sauce (Liberian Jute Leaf and Meat Stew)LR1 h 30 minEasy
• Torborgee (Liberian Bitter Eggplant Stew)LR1 h 20 minMedium

Side Dishes

• Dumboy (Liberian Pounded Cassava Dough)LR50 minMedium

Breads

• Liberian Rice Bread (Banana Rice Flour Cake)LR1 h 10 minEasy

Snacks

• Kala (Liberian Sweet Fried Dough Balls)LR35 minEasy

Sauces, Dips and Condiments

• Liberian Pepper Sauce (Fresh Hot Pepper Relish)LR30 minEasy