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.

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.

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.

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.