A typical dish from northern Mali, fakoye is a stew with a very particular flavour.
Time 2 ½ hours approx.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 500 gr rice
- 1 kg mutton or lamb
- 100 gr fakoye leaves (or zofonboulou; scientific name: Corchorus olitorius) powder
- songhai spice mix (cinnamon, nutmeg, fennel, cumin…)
- 2 onions
- 1 bitter aubergine
- 1 cauliflower
- 1 chili pepper
- 4 dates
- 100 gr shea butter
- black pepper
- fine salt
- 2 tablespoons palm oil
Preparation
Marinate the powdered fakoye leaves with the shea butter for 30 minutes. In a pan, brown the chili pepper and pepper in palm oil, add the meat cut into pieces and let it cook, adding water and salt from time to time. When almost cooked, add the songhai spices and dates, then the aubergine and cauliflower, then the leaves and the shea butter, and leave on the heat for another twenty minutes. In the meantime, boil some rice in another pan. Once ready, serve the white rice and add the sauce on top. (Photo: AU)
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Mafé. Meat and vegetable stew
A stew of meat and vegetables with peanut butter, originally from Mali but also very popular in Senegal and Gambia, mafè is a hearty and tasty dish.
Time 1 ½ hours
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 500 gr of beef
- 50 gr of boiled rice
- 3 carrots
- 2 onions
- 2 potatoes
- 1 cabbage
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 red chillies
- 500 gr of tomato puree
- 250 gr of peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons of peanut oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Cut the meat into small pieces. Chop the onion and chillies, crush the garlic. Heat the oil in a saucepan, when it sizzles add the meat and brown for five minutes. Add the garlic, onion and chillies. Add salt, mix and leave to fry for a few minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce, stir and cook for another five minutes. Cover with a litre of water and bring to the boil. Add all the whole vegetables and leave to cook for about half an hour, then remove the cabbage, potatoes and carrots. Add the peanut butter to the saucepan and cook for the last 15 minutes, stirring to prevent the peanut paste from sticking to the bottom, until it becomes creamy. Season with salt and pepper, and serve hot over boiled rice. (Photo: CC0/Marshiayers)