Nigerian Spices and Seasonings: Uziza, Calabash Nutmeg, Alligator Pepper, Iru and Ogiri

Nigerian cooking leans on spices that most people outside West Africa have never met. Uziza is a peppery climber in the same genus as black pepper. Calabash nutmeg is a different plant from true nutmeg, and alligator pepper is the same seed sold elsewhere as grains of paradise. Then there are fermented seed condiments like iru and ogiri that give soups a deep, pungent savor, plus curry powder, thyme and fresh chiles. Here’s each one, with links to our related profiles.

At a glance

Uziza (Piper guineense)

Uziza is the Igbo name for Piper guineense, a climbing epiphyte of the wet tropics, native across tropical Africa and Madagascar. It’s in the same genus as black pepper, Piper nigrum. In English it sometimes goes by false cubeb or Ashanti pepper. Gernot Katzer explains that the so-called “false cubeb pepper” is Piper guineense. Its fruits look like cubeb berries but are smaller, smoother and reddish, and it tastes like cubeb, only fresher and less bitter.¹

Seeds. A 2025 study describes the seeds, known as African black pepper, as a spice and food preservative, eaten first in southern Nigeria and now across the country. It notes that traditional processing like soaking, roasting and boiling is done to cut bitterness and improve taste.² Use them whole or ground like peppercorns, and go easy.

Leaves. Chopped uziza leaves go in near the end of cooking in soups such as nsala (white soup) and ofe oha. We didn’t find a source for these dish uses.

See cubeb pepper, cubeb pepper substitutes, black pepper and long pepper.

Calabash nutmeg (ehuru)

Calabash nutmeg is the seed of Monodora myristica, a tree in the custard-apple family (Annonaceae). It’s native from western tropical Africa to southwestern Kenya and northwestern Angola, in the wet tropics. It’s a different plant from true nutmeg, Myristica fragrans.

Yewande Komolafe, writing about the Nigerian pantry for Saveur, lists calabash nutmeg in pepper soup spice, alongside negro pepper (also called uda seeds) and alligator pepper seeds.³ Cooks also use it as a stand-in for nutmeg and in banga soup, but we didn’t find a source for either, or for how its flavor compares with nutmeg’s. See nutmeg and nutmeg uses.

Alligator pepper

Alligator pepper is a West African name for Aframomum melegueta, the ginger-family plant whose seeds are sold elsewhere as grains of paradise. It’s native from western tropical Africa to Angola. A 2026 review reports that in eastern Nigeria the seeds are served with kola nuts when entertaining guests.⁴ It’s also one of the three spices Komolafe lists for pepper soup. See alligator pepper, grains of paradise and grains of paradise substitutes.

Pepper soup spice

Pepper soup spice is a blend, not a single spice. Komolafe’s version includes calabash nutmeg, negro pepper (uda) and alligator pepper seeds. She grinds her own and notes that preground versions are sold in African grocery stores.³ We didn’t find a standard recipe.

Iru (dawadawa): fermented locust bean

Iru is made from the seeds of the African locust bean, Parkia biglobosa, a legume tree native from western tropical Africa to South Sudan. The condiment is called iru or dawadawa in Nigeria and Ghana, with related condiments elsewhere in West Africa, like soumbala in Burkina Faso.

How it’s made. The seeds are cleaned, boiled, dehulled and left to ferment at room temperature. A 2013 study in Frontiers in Microbiology describes it as a spontaneous, solid-substrate alkaline fermentation dominated by Bacillus species. Along the way, proteins break down into peptides, amino acids and ammonia.⁵ The study doesn’t describe the smell. People often compare iru’s strong aroma to pungent cheese, but that’s a description, not a measurement.

Iru goes into soups such as ogbono and efo riro.

Ogiri

Ogiri is a fermented paste made from oilseeds. A 1990 review of Nigerian fermented foods lists ogiri-isi, made from castor seeds, and ogiri-egusi, made from melon seeds, among the country’s fermented condiments, alongside dawadawa from the African locust bean. The same review notes that most of these fermentations happen naturally, and it also discusses possible risks of eating fermented foods.⁶

Ogiri okpei is often described as made from the seeds of African mesquite (Prosopis africana). We only found that link in the titles of studies cited by other papers, not in a source we could read, so we’re leaving it unconfirmed. We also found no source for specific dishes like ofe akwu or ofe nsala, or for comparisons with miso or fermented black beans. See soy sauce powder for another fermented seasoning.

Curry powder and thyme

Curry powder and dried thyme are standard in Nigerian stews and fried rice. We found no source on what Nigerian curry powder blends are like, including the claim that they carry no chile heat. See curry powder, is curry powder spicy?, thyme and cumin.

Scotch bonnet and suya spice

Komolafe notes that Scotch bonnet peppers are part of everyday cooking in Nigeria. She also describes suya spice, a dry rub of ginger powder, chile powder, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder and salt that goes on meat or anything else headed for the grill.³ See habanero powder and ginger.

Related pages

• South African spices and Ethiopian spices
• Berbere seasoning
• The master list of herbs and spices