MALIAN GASTRONOMY Passport DC@Home: Savor the Flavors of The Embassy of Mali Courtesy of the Malian Office of Tourism

Malian gastronomy is rich in the cultural diversity of its different ethnicities, the mixing of races and civilizations, the extent of the country. In fact, a study by the Mali’s National Employment Agency (ANPE) listed 274 dishes that were identified by 100 catering professionals and 200 housewives from the 17 main ethnic groups in Mali.

If the sharing of the common dish with the family remains a solemn moment that reflects very precise rules, then “the of desire” tempts us on every corner of the street, in the form of skewers, bean fritters, froufrou, roasted peanuts or fresh berlingots with ginger, bissap or tamarind juice.

Malian cuisine is essentially prepared with millet and to which a sauce is added and, if the family’s budget allows, beef, mutton, chicken, or fish also may be added. Each region and ethnic group have one or more typical dishes.

Bambara and Dogon eat mainly millet cakes, the tô, which can be eaten morning, noon, and night. Tô is served with gombo sauce, a sticky sauce made from the crushed fruit of the gombo plant. The Bambara also enjoy dégué, a dish made of millet and curdled milk. Tiga dégué, which is rice with peanut sauce, has become the of Mali.

The Sarakolé in the Kayes region of Mali are fond of bassi, a made of millet, baobab leaf powder, tomato sauce, milk and peanuts. or fish is added is added to this dish.

The favorite dish of the Malinke is niéniékini, a meal made from millet (small millet and sorghum), corn and game.

The Fulani eat mostly rice and dairy products, such as porridge, curd, cheese, etc.

The inhabitants of the Sikasso region are known to have especially particular culinary tastes. They sometimes eat insects, lizards, snakes, worms, and monkey brains.

The cuisine in northern Mali, a desert area, is more sought after.

The Songhaï dishes are fakouhoye, rice prepared with a thick greenish sauce made from an herb and with meat or fish that has been lightly fried. The toukassou is a mutton dish served with flour balls and tomato sauce. Labédia, a Songhai and Tuareg dish, is prepared with well-cooked mutton or goat meat, pounded in butter, and mixed with rice.

The Tuareg eat mostly goat butter, dried meat, and milk. The "viande sableuse" is a meat dish prepared in the stomach of a sheep and cooked with hot stones. During the big festivals, the Tuareg slaughter a dromedary, whose meat is tasty. The Wolof of have introduced several specialties to Mali, including rice with fat (tiep), also called zamin in Bambara, which can be combined with fish (thieboudienne) or meat (tiep yak) and yassa chicken, a chicken marinated in an onion and lemon sauce.

The chicken kedjenou, of Ivorian origin, is a chicken cooked in a spicy sauce and accompanied by attiéké (semolina of durum wheat and fonio).

On the sidewalk, women prepare grilled fish, beef skewers with aloko (plantain French fries) or millet flour fritters.

Local drinks include tamarind juice, dabléni (red fruit), ginger juice (guininebéré) and monkey bread (milk and baobab seed powder). Kinkéliba is offered and sold in bundles. It is highly prized for its many properties. It is good against constipation, good for the digestive tract and the urinary tract, it acts on the liver, it facilitates the evacuation of the bile, among other virtues.

Malian Gastronomy 1 Below are images of some popular dishes from our Malian gastronomy!

Laro Ethnicity : Bambara Regional origin : Segou Social use : Lunch and Dinner Preparation cost: 2500 fcfa/ for 10 people (roughly $4.60)

Tô Ethnicity : Bambara Social use : Lunch and Dinner Preparation Cost: 3000 fcfa/6 people (roughly $5.50)

Niebe Chô (White beans)

Social use: Regular meal, lunch, dinner

Sorrel bouquet in peanut Stew Name of the dish in French : SAUCE NOIRE DES SONGHAIS Social use : Lunch, dinner Preparation Cost: 3000 fcfa/6 people (roughly $5.50)

Malian Gastronomy 2 Fakoye Stew Name of the dish in French : SAUCE NOIRE DES SONGHAIS Ethnic origin : Songhaï Regional origin : Timbuktu, Kidal Social use : Lunch, dinner Preparation Cost: 3000 fcfa/6 people (roughly $5.50)

Peanut Butter Stew Name of the dish in French : SAUCE ARACHIDE Ethnic origin : Bambara - Maninka Social use : Lunch generally Preparation cost: 3000 fcfa/6 people (roughly $5.50)

NieSaga-Saga Name of the dish in French : Sauce avec feuilles de patates Ethnic origin : MALINKE Regional origin : Kayes, Koulikoro Social use : Ordinary meal, lunch Preparation Cost : 3000 fcfa/6 people (roughly $5.50)

Malian Gastronomy 3 Now lets’ move on to a few of our popular snacks!

Accra (Bean Cake) Fari (Sweet Sticky bean power)

Dableni (Bissap Juice) Ginbere Ji (Ginger Juice)

Degue (millet semolina seeds in yogurt) Zira (baobab juice)

Malian Gastronomy 4 Zamba Ji (Madd Juice) Mangoro Ji (Mango Juice)

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Malian Gastronomy 5