Mali

A vivid ruby-red iced infusion brewed from dried Hibiscus sabdariffa calyces, sweetened and typically scented with mint and sometimes orange flower water, served chilled as a daily refreshment and ceremonial drink across West Africa and the Sahel.[1]

A thin, smooth, sweetened porridge made from pearl millet flour slaked in cold water then cooked in boiling liquid, eaten hot as the primary morning meal across the Sahelian belt.[3]

Chunks of mature mutton threaded on skewers, coated in a dry spice rub, and grilled directly over live charcoal until the exterior is deeply charred and the interior remains juicy.

A chilled dessert of fermented milk poured over sweet, cooked millet couscous and sweetened with sugar.

A West African pilaf of fonio, an ancient tiny Sahelian grain, steamed and then dressed with seasoned meat or fish braising juices in the style of jollof or thieboudienne.

A Malian street drink of fiery cold-pressed fresh ginger, sweetened and lightly spiced, sold cold.

A Malian one-pot rice dish in which long-grain rice is simmered to full absorption in a rich, fat-rendered tomato-onion-meat broth alongside large-cut whole vegetables, the accumulated animal fat ('gras') being inseparable from the dish's identity.

A West African stew of meat (lamb or beef) and root vegetables simmered in a thick groundnut (peanut) and tomato sauce.

Chicken marinated in lemon, mustard, and onion, then grilled and braised in a slow-cooked caramelized onion-and-citrus sauce.

A Malian sauce of finely chopped dark leafy greens slow-cooked with palm oil, smoked fish, and fermented locust beans, served over a starch.

A creamy rice pudding simmered in coconut milk or whole milk and sweetened, scented with vanilla and sugar.

A Malian viscous, slippery leaf sauce built on powdered or fresh baobab leaves with dried fish, fermented locust bean, and okra, eaten over a grain staple.

A Sahelian one-pot of stuffed whole fish poached then served over tomato-cooked rice with simmered vegetables.

A Malian peanut-butter stew in which beef or chicken is slow-braised in a deeply reduced sauce of groundnut paste and tomato until the natural peanut oil rises, then served over plain white rice.

A dense, smooth, hand-shaped porridge of millet or sorghum flour cooked to a stiff, cohesive mass and eaten by hand alongside a sauce.[3]

A stiff Malian porridge made from fonio grain, eaten by hand with a sauce.

A Malian steamed couscous made from millet or sorghum flour, a staple of the Dogon country and northern Mali.