Burkina Faso Essentials

🇲🇱Mali

Tô

Tô (sagabo in Mooré) — the national staple of Burkina Faso; a thick polenta-style paste of millet, sorghum, or corn flour served with various sauces; eaten by hand; the dish that defines every Burkinabè meal.

🇹🇬Togo

Riz Gras

Riz gras ('fat rice') — a one-pot rice dish cooked in seasoned broth with tomatoes, onions, vegetables, and meat or fish; the celebratory dish of the Mossi people; the Burkinabè equivalent of jollof rice.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Babenda

The Mossi people's signature one-pot dish of bitter greens, fermented locust beans (soumbala), rice, and smoked fish; the bitterness of the greens balanced by the umami of soumbala; a TasteAtlas-listed Burkinabè specialty.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Burkinabè Poulet Bicyclette

Poulet bicyclette

Poulet bicyclette — free-range chicken with firm flesh, grilled or braised; prized for flavour over industrial chicken; the signature restaurant dish of Burkina Faso; served at every maquis.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Soumbala

Fermented locust bean (néré) seeds; pungent with a blue cheese-like flavour; the essential seasoning of Burkinabè cuisine; the umami backbone of sauces, stews, and babenda; produced heavily in Houet province.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Dolo

Traditional sorghum or millet beer brewed by women (dolotières); served in calabashes; sometimes called 'Faso Lipton'; the social drink of ceremonies and markets; the communal beverage of Burkinabè life.

🇬🇲The Gambia

Hibiscus Juice

Bissap

Hibiscus flower infusion, deep red, sweet, and tart; served cold with mint; the national non-alcoholic drink; produced from hibiscus grown in Houet and Kénédougou provinces; the crimson welcome of Burkinabè hospitality.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Zoom-Koom

Fermented millet flour drink with tamarind, ginger, and sugar; the name means 'flour water' in Mooré; the traditional welcome and hospitality drink of the Mossi and Dagara peoples; served cold in calabashes.

🇲🇱Mali

Millet and Curd Milk

Dégué

Couscous of millet grains mixed with yogurt or curdled milk and sugar; the popular Burkinabè dessert and snack; sold in plastic cups at street stalls in Ouagadougou and Bobo-Dioulasso; the sweet face of Burkinabè cuisine.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Riz Soumbala

Rice cooked with fermented néré-seed soumbala, a named Burkinabè one-pot dish rather than a raw commodity; the deep umami seasoning is central to the national preparation.

🇧🇫Burkina Faso

Baobab Leaf Sauce

Sauce feuilles de baobab

Baobab leaf sauce — thick, mucilaginous, and earthy; made from fresh or dried baobab leaves with potash, soumbala, and meat or fish; used in 64% of tô sauces in Burkina Faso; the most common tô sauce in the country.

🇧🇫Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso

Chitoumou

Shea tree caterpillars, a seasonal delicacy (July-September) of the Bobo people around Bobo-Dioulasso; fried, stewed, dried, or powdered; high in protein; the edible insect that defines Bobo-Dioulasso's culinary identity.