Mali - Our First Stop in West Africa

This week, traveled on my culinary journey to the heart of West Africa, exploring the rich flavors of Mali. Once the largest empire of West Africa, Mali was known for the wealth of its rulers. One such ruler, Mansa Musa, was said to have have given so many gifts and spent so much gold on his pilgrimage to Mecca, that he caused significant inflation in Egypt. While no longer quite the empire it was, Mali remains the 8^th largest country in Africa, by land mass.

Mali, with its diverse ethnic groups, presents a cuisine that is both unique and reflective of the broader West African culinary landscape. Interestingly, because of shifting borders and sometimes nomadic cultures, I found it difficult to identify a larger number of dishes that could be considered “Malian”. There were no English-language cookbooks for me to work from that were strictly for this area, at least not that I could find. I used a few internet sources for these recipes, all of which have been linked below.

Malian food, much like the landscape of the country itself, is robust and hearty. The cuisine is built around staple grains like sorghum, millet, and rice, often accompanied by sauces and stews that are rich in flavor and texture. Meat, when used, is typically mutton, beef, or chicken. A mostly Islamic area, pork was not on the menu this week. Meat aside, one ingredient I was excited to see common to the region is okra.

The first dish I was eager to try was Tiguedege Na, also known as Malian peanut stew. This dish is made with a base of ground peanuts (peanut butter), tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, and sometimes chicken or lamb. It is often served with rice. I opted for brown rice, given the nuttiness of the rice would also highlight the nuttiness of the stew. For those more familiar with Thai cuisine, It quite reminds me of Massaman Curry.

Next up was Couscous de Timbuktu. This was SPICY even with me cutting the amount of cayenne in half. Much like the peanut stew, it was hearty and filling. This was far less heavy on the vegetables and really highlighted the meats. I went with chicken, but I would love to try this with lamb. It’s served with its namesake couscous. Honestly, this dish was incredibly simple to put together and scored a “put that in the rotation” from my wife. It’s rare I get that response with something bordering on her ability to handle the spice.

For my final dish of the week, I made Okra Stew and fufu. In an effort to be more frugal with my food purchases, I used ground grass-fed venison that I already had in the freezer in place of the beef. Many people are turned off by the texture of boil okra, but I thought it added tremendous texture, thickening up what would otherwise be a watery soup. Best of all, the okra kept their crunch and were a great contrast to the soft beans and chewy venison. I served it with a microwave fufu made from green plantain and yuca. While I generally like most foods, sometimes I try something that’s a big heck no for me. I’ll try fufu again, but this version just didn’t taste good at all. I won’t share the recipe to protect the innocent. The texture was cool, like mochi, but the flavor didn’t work. We finished the soup over a couple of days, but threw the fufu out the next day.

I’m looking forward to exploring West Africa more, especially a few of the more popular dishes like Jollof Rice. I’m all about comfort food and this region has a lot to offer. Additionally, as a native to the Southern United States, much of the food I grew up on is rooted in this area.

Stay tuned for our next destination, where we grab a Guinness and celebrate St Patrick’s day with the cuisine of Ireland. If there is somewhere you would like me to explore soon, leave a comment!