Mali

🇲🇱Mali

Meni-meniyong

Malian sesame brittle bound with honey or sugar, traditionally shaped into a crisp, nutty sweet.

🇲🇱Mali

Millet and Curd Milk

Dégué

A Malian dish of millet couscous mixed with curdled milk; a Bambara specialty; listed in the Mali tourism document as a traditional dish; the millet is steamed and then mixed with fresh curdled milk and sugar; a refreshing, nutritious snack or breakfast; found at street stalls and markets

🇲🇱Mali

Ngome

A traditional Malian millet flatbread cooked on a hot surface and eaten with tea or sauce.

🇨🇲Cameroon

Nigerian Jollof Rice

Jollof rice

Long-grain rice cooked down in a blended base of red pepper, tomato, onion and scotch bonnet until the grain absorbs it all and the bottom of the pot catches.

🇲🇱Mali

Niéniékini

A Malinké Malian preparation of millet or sorghum served with a rich meat sauce.

🇲🇱Mali

Nététou

Dawa Dawa

African locust bean seeds fermented for days and pressed into dark balls with a pungent, savoury smell.

🇳🇬Nigeria

Puff Puff

Balls of sweetened yeast batter dropped into hot oil by hand and fried until deep brown and hollow inside.

🇹🇬Togo

Riz Gras

Rice cooked in a tomato, onion and pepper base with meat or fish until it takes the colour and the fat of the sauce.

🇲🇱Mali

Salade à la Tomate et au Concombres

Salade tomate concombre

A traditional Malian tomato and cucumber salad; listed in Wikipedia's Malian cuisine; tomatoes and cucumbers are sliced and dressed with oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper; a refreshing side dish; a simple, fresh accompaniment to grilled meats and rice dishes; found at restaurants and family tables; the salad of Malian cuisine.

🇲🇱Mali

Sarakolé Millet Couscous

Bassi

A millet couscous from the Sarakolé (Soninke) people of the Kayes region; made with millet couscous, baobab leaf powder, tomato sauce, milk, and peanut; listed in the Mali tourism document as a regional specialty; a hearty, nutritious dish that reflects the agricultural traditions of western Mali; served at family gatherings.

🇲🇱Mali

Sauce d'Arachide

A Malian peanut sauce served over tô or rice; listed in Wikipedia's Malian cuisine; meat simmered in a rich peanut sauce with tomatoes, onions, and spices; similar to tigadeguena but may vary in preparation; a foundational sauce of Malian cuisine; the peanut is the defining ingredient; a hearty, nutty, and satisfying dish.

🇨🇮Côte d'Ivoire

Sauce Gombo

Fresh okra grated to a slippery green sauce with smoked fish, pepper and sometimes soumbara, eaten by drawing threads of it up with a ball of foutou.

🇲🇱Mali

Sauce Gombo

A sticky, viscous okra sauce served over tô or rice; the okra is pounded to release its mucilage, creating the characteristic slippery texture; a beloved Malian sauce also called 'sauce noire' (black sauce); one of the most common sauces in Malian cuisine; eaten with meat or fish; the texture is the tell of a good version.

🇲🇱Mali

Sauce Noire

A Malian 'black sauce' made with gumbo (okra); listed in Wikipedia's Malian cuisine; the dark color comes from the pounded okra and sometimes dried leaves; a viscous, earthy sauce served over tô or rice; related to sauce gombo but with a darker color; a traditional sauce that reflects the resourcefulness of Malian cooking.

🇬🇭Ghana

Shea Butter

Nkuto

Nuts of the shea tree boiled, pounded and churned into a pale, nutty cooking fat used across the north.

🇲🇷Nouakchott, Mauritania

Thieboudienne

Ceebu jën

Broken rice cooked in a tomato and fish stock with a whole fish stuffed with parsley, garlic and chilli, plus cassava, carrot, cabbage and aubergine.

🇲🇱Mali

Tiguadege Na

Tigadɛgɛna

The national dish of Mali — a creamy peanut stew with beef, chicken, or meatballs simmered in peanut butter with tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, and chili; the Bambara name means 'peanut butter sauce'; served with rice or millet tô; a rich, hearty dish central to Malian cuisine and celebrations.

🇲🇱Mali

Tô

The staple food of Mali — a stiff porridge or swallow made from millet, sorghum, or rice flour; cooked by stirring flour into boiling water until thick and smooth; eaten with the right hand and dipped into various sauces (gumbo, baobab leaf, peanut, tomato); the foundation of every Malian meal; Bambara and Dogon people eat it morning, noon, and night.

🇬🇲The Gambia

Yassa

Poulet yassa

Chicken or fish marinated in lemon, mustard and onion, grilled, then simmered in a great quantity of the same onions until they collapse.

🇲🇱Mali

Zaamè

The Malian version of jollof rice, called zaamè in Bamanankan; rice cooked in a single pot with tomatoes, onions, chili, and meat (chicken, beef, or mutton); the Malian style has a special way of cooking that distinguishes it from Nigerian, Senegalese, and Ghanaian versions; a fragrant, flavorful rice dish; a staple of celebrations and everyday meals.