Togolese cuisine

Togolese cuisine is the cuisine of the Togolese Republic, a country in West Africa. Staple foods in Togolese cuisine include maize, rice, millet, cassava, yam, plantain and beans. Maize is the most commonly consumed food in the Togolese Republic. Fish is a significant source of protein. People in Togo tend to eat at home, but there are also restaurants and food stalls.

Foods and dishes

Togolese style is often a combination of African, French, and German influences. The cuisine has many sauces and different types of pâté, many of which are made from eggplant, tomato, spinach, and fish. The cuisine combines these foods with various types of meat and vegetables to create flavorful dishes. Roadside food stands sell foods such as groundnuts, omelettes, brochettes, corn-on-the-cob, and cooked prawns.
Additional foods and dishes include:Agouti, known as "grasscutters"

Akpan, fermented maize dessertAkume, prepared from ground maize served with a side, usually okra soup
Baguette bread
Chili peppers are often used as a spiceFufu is very common, made from peeled and boiled yams which are then pounded with a pestle until reaching a dough consistency Fufu is typically accompanied with sauces.
Goat meatKoklo meme, grilled chicken with a chili sauceKokonte, a pâté made from cassavaPâté, a commonly consumed cornmeal cake
Peanuts

Southern Togolese cuisine

Riz sauce d’arachide, a rice dish made with groundnut sauce.

Starters

Salad with papaya
Tomato and onion salad
Avocado salad with sole
Avocado salad in cubes, usually served with tomato, hard-boiled egg and onions

Sauces

Fétri déssi: okra sauce cooked with palm oil or other oils, beef, shrimp, crab, smoked fish Gboma déssi: spinach-based sauce with meat, smoked fish, or seafoodAdémè déssi: sauce of leafy greens Egoussi déssi: thick sauce of ground egusi seeds, gboma leaves, tomato, onion, spices, beef, akpanman, seafood Gbôh-lan déssi: goat meat sauceAlin déssi: mutton sauceGni-lan déssi: beef tomato sauceGni-fôti déssi: cow feet tomato sauceAgbanmé déssi: light tomato sauce with beef strips or fishDékou déssi: palm nut sauce with offal, beef, fishYébéssé-si: raw spicy tomato and chili pasteHan-lan déssi: pork tomato sauceHô-lan déssi: smoked agouti tomato sauce Azin'g déssi: peanut paste sauceLan-moumou déssi: fish sauce with tomato Kanlanmi déssi: fried fish tomato sauceDowèwi déssi: sauce with fresh or smoked anchovies Gbékui déssi: thick leafy greens sauce with meat or fish Déssi hé: white sauce with vegetables and fish

Starches and doughs

Akoumé: staple maize porridge, cooked in boiling water and served as main accompaniment to various sauces. Two main methods: Akoumé is the same as akplè, or banku, close to tô.
Djenkoumé: salty version, amiwɔ in Benin; maize dough cooked with salted water or meat broth, eaten plain with meat.Kom (dokounou): steamed balls of precooked, fermented whole-grain maize dough wrapped in corn husks; served with fried fish and a special roasted chili pepper. Kom is widely eaten in Ghana among Ewe people, known as kenkey in the Ga people language.
Ablo: steamed, slightly sweet maize pancake; also made with rice.Akpan: soft, slightly tangy ball of fermented whole maize flour, steamed in banana leaves.
Egblin: ball made from very fermented maize cream, steamed in cassava leaves.Fufu: mash of boiled yam, cassava, plantain or taro, pounded to a light, elastic texture; eaten with clear fish or meat broth or with palm nut sauce.

Beverages

Red wine
American-style beer
White wine