western-africa
Explore 48 foods connected to Mauritania, from everyday staples to rare local specialties.
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The local shortlist
12 editor-selected foods for understanding the place through what people eat.
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The full directory
48 foods in this view. Filter by category, type, rarity, or search every recorded name.
Senegal River Valley (Trarza / Gorgol / Guidimaka), Mauritania
Hand-rolled millet or sorghum couscous steamed and served under a thick sauce of lalo (baobab leaf powder), meat, and vegetables; a Pulaar specialty of the Senegal River valley, distinct from wheat-based Moroccan couscous.
Morocco
سمن
Moroccan butter clarified and aged with salt and aromatics until it develops a strong savoury perfume.
Western Sahara
طاجين
Slow-cooked Moroccan food prepared in a shallow earthenware dish with a conical lid, from vegetables to meat.
Niger
A traditional Tuareg flatbread baked in the hot sand of the Sahara: a thick, unleavened galette of millet, wheat, or sorghum flour is buried under hot sand and embers, then broken into pieces and eaten with a meat or tomato sauce.
The Gambia
Dense brown bread of millet, maize and wheat flour baked in wood-fired ovens into long, heavy loaves.
The Gambia
Caakiri
Steamed millet couscous stirred into sweetened curdled milk with vanilla and nutmeg, served cold.
Nouakchott, Mauritania
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.
Mauritania
Ceere
Millet steamed into fine couscous grains, the traditional starch of the interior before rice took over.
Mauritania
Sun-dried meat strips, traditionally from addax antelope but now from camel or beef; salted and dried in the desert sun for preservation; rehydrated and cooked into stews or grilled; a nomadic preservation method that concentrates the meat's flavour.
The Gambia
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.
Mauritania
Poisson Yassa Mauritanienne
Fish marinated in lemon, onions, and chilies, fried, then simmered in a tangy sauce with balsamic vinegar and Dijon mustard; the Mauritanian version of Senegalese yassa, adapted with Atlantic fish and a French-influenced mustard-vinegar finish.
Mauritania
Fermented milk beverage made from soured camel, goat, or cow milk mixed with sugar and water; regional variations include millet (Senguetti from Hodh Ech Chargui), chili pepper (Oualata), and orange soda (modern); a refreshing, tangy drink of nomadic origin.