[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":424},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:senegalese-thiere":3,"recipe:country:senegal":203},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":39,"serveWith":49,"storage":51,"faq":52,"equipment":68,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":76,"diet":78,"mainIngredients":81,"ingredients":86,"instructions":154,"nutrition":182,"images":189,"keywords":193,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"senegalese-thiere","Thiéré Bassi Salté (Senegalese Millet Couscous with Lamb)","Cere basi salte","CHEH-ray BAH-see sal-TAY","senegal","Sine-Saloum","🍲","Steamed millet couscous, darker and finer than semolina, mounded under lamb and vegetables in a tomato sauce given depth by a lump of fermented locust bean.","Millet couscous is not a smaller version of the North African kind — it is a different grain with a different character, greyish-brown, faintly nutty and much softer once steamed. In Senegal it is called thiéré, and bassi salté is the savoury way to serve it: lamb browned and simmered with onion, tomato and root vegetables into a thick sauce, the couscous steamed separately over the same pot so it takes on the aroma without going soggy, then everything piled together in one dish. The seasoning turns on nététou, fermented locust bean, which gives the sauce a meaty, almost cheesy depth that tomato alone cannot.","Millet was the staple grain of the Senegalese interior for centuries before rice took over the coast, and it still is in the drier farming regions where rice has to be bought rather than grown. Grinding millet and rolling it into couscous is old, laborious work, traditionally done by hand with water sprinkled over flour in a wide calabash until the grains form, and it is one of the reasons thiéré carries celebration weight: it signals effort and, historically, women pounding grain together.\n\nBassi salté means, roughly, salted or savoury couscous, distinguishing it from the sweeter millet preparations eaten at breakfast or for religious occasions. It appears at weddings, baptisms and Tabaski, and it is the dish many Senegalese people abroad name when asked what they cannot get right in a foreign kitchen — partly because good millet couscous is hard to find outside African grocers, and partly because most people no longer own a couscoussier.\n\nThe relationship with Maghreb couscous is real but not a straight line. Both cuisines steam a rolled grain over a stew, and North African trade routes ran through the Sahel for centuries, so a shared technique is unsurprising. But Senegal uses millet rather than durum wheat, seasons with nététou and scotch bonnet rather than ras el hanout, and serves the grain with the sauce over rather than beside it. Anyone calling one a version of the other is flattening two separate traditions that happened to meet.",[15,16,17,18],"Steams the couscous over the stew rather than soaking it, which is the difference between separate grains and porridge.","Browns the lamb properly first, so the sauce has roasted depth before a single vegetable goes in.","Times three short steamings, the traditional rhythm, and tells you what the grain should look like after each one.","Explains what nététou contributes and offers an honest replacement if you cannot find it.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Buy millet couscous from an African grocer if you can — it is often labelled thiéré, arraw or sanxal. Wheat couscous will work but tastes and behaves quite differently, needing far less steaming.","Sprinkle the dry couscous with salted water and rub it between your palms before the first steaming. Grains that go into the steamer dry come out with hard centres.","If you have no couscoussier, set a fine sieve or a colander lined with muslin over the stew pot and seal the gap with a strip of damp cloth. Escaping steam is steam not cooking your grain.","Rake the couscous with a fork between steamings and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Handling it hot compacts it into lumps you will not break up later.","One pea-sized lump of nététou is enough for the whole pot. It smells confrontational in the jar and rounds out completely after 10 minutes of simmering, but too much turns the sauce bitter.","The sauce should be thick enough to sit on the grain rather than run off the plate. If it is loose at the end, lift out the meat and vegetables and boil it down for 5 minutes.",[27,31,35],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Millet couscous","Medium wheat couscous, or fine bulgur","Wheat couscous needs only one 15-minute steaming, or a straightforward soak in hot stock. The dish becomes something else, but a good something else.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Nététou (fermented locust bean)","1 tsp white miso plus half an anchovy fillet","Not a traditional swap, but it reproduces the fermented, savoury register better than a stock cube does.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Lamb shoulder","Mutton, goat, or beef shin","Goat is very common in Senegal and needs about 20 minutes longer. Beef shin gives a richer sauce because of the collagen.",[40,43,46],{"name":41,"description":42},"Thiéré with dried fish","A handful of soaked guedj added to the sauce alongside the lamb, which pushes the whole dish towards the coast.",{"name":44,"description":45},"Vegetable bassi","Built on pumpkin, cabbage, carrot and chickpeas with vegetable stock and an extra spoon of tomato paste. Meatless and entirely plausible on a Senegalese table.",{"name":47,"description":48},"Lakh","The sweet counterpart: the same millet couscous steamed and served with soured milk and sugar rather than sauce, eaten at breakfast or for religious gatherings.",[50],"Serve it in one wide dish with the couscous underneath and the sauce ladled into a crater in the middle, and pass a small bowl of extra sauce for anyone who wants more.","The stew keeps 3 days refrigerated and reheats without complaint. Steamed couscous keeps 2 days but dries out fast in the fridge — sprinkle it with water, cover it and steam it for 10 minutes to bring it back rather than microwaving it, which leaves hard patches. Both freeze for 2 months, and the couscous actually freezes better than it refrigerates. Reheat them separately and combine only on the plate.",[53,56,59,62,65],{"question":54,"answer":55},"What is millet couscous and where do I find it?","It is millet flour rolled with water into small grains and dried, the Sahelian equivalent of North African wheat couscous. African grocers and online West African food shops sell it, often labelled thiéré, sanxal or arraw. It is greyer and finer than semolina couscous and has a mild, nutty flavour that comes through clearly under a sauce.",{"question":57,"answer":58},"Do I need a couscoussier?","No. A fine-mesh sieve or a metal colander lined with muslin, set over your stew pot and sealed at the join with a damp strip of cloth or a ring of foil, does the same job. The only requirement is that steam has to travel through the grain rather than around it.",{"question":60,"answer":61},"Why steam the couscous three times?","Each steaming hydrates the grain a little further while raking and cooling between rounds keeps the grains separate. One long steam produces a dense, sticky mass; three short ones give the light, loose texture the dish is judged on. Wheat couscous is more forgiving and needs only one.",{"question":63,"answer":64},"What does nététou taste like?","Sharp and pungent raw — most people compare the smell to strong cheese — and deeply savoury once cooked, closer to miso or aged soy than to anything else in a European kitchen. It dissolves into the sauce and leaves no identifiable flavour of its own, only a fuller, meatier background. It is sold as soumbala or dawadawa in some shops.",{"question":66,"answer":67},"Can I make bassi salté ahead for a crowd?","Yes, and it is a sensible dish to do that with. Cook the stew a day ahead and refrigerate it, then reheat it slowly while you steam the couscous fresh. Steaming is the part that suffers from being done early, and it only takes about 45 minutes of mostly unattended work.",[69,70,71],"Couscoussier, or a stew pot with a fine sieve that sits on top","Wide bowl for raking the grain","Muslin or a clean cloth strip to seal the join",6,30,95,"medium",[77],"main",[79,80],"dairy-free","halal-friendly",[82,83,84,85],"lamb","couscous","cabbage","carrot",[87,92,96,100,104,106,111,116,119,122,125,128,131,135,138,141,145,149],{"ref":83,"qty":88,"unit":89,"name":90,"group":91},500,"g","millet couscous (thiéré)","For the couscous",{"qty":93,"unit":94,"name":95,"group":91},200,"ml","water mixed with 1 tsp salt",{"qty":97,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":91},1,"tbsp","groundnut oil",{"ref":82,"qty":97,"unit":101,"name":102,"group":103},"kg","lamb shoulder, in 5 cm bone-in pieces","For the sauce",{"qty":105,"unit":98,"name":99,"group":103},3,{"ref":107,"qty":108,"unit":109,"name":110,"group":103},"onion",2,"piece","large onions, sliced",{"ref":112,"qty":113,"unit":114,"name":115,"group":103},"garlic",4,"clove","garlic, crushed",{"ref":117,"qty":113,"unit":98,"name":118,"group":103},"tomato-paste","tomato paste",{"ref":120,"qty":105,"unit":109,"name":121,"group":103},"tomato","ripe tomatoes, chopped",{"qty":97,"unit":109,"name":123,"optional":124,"group":103},"pea-sized lump of nététou (fermented locust bean)",true,{"ref":126,"qty":108,"unit":109,"name":127,"group":103},"bay-leaf","bay leaves",{"ref":129,"qty":97,"unit":109,"name":130,"group":103},"scotch-bonnet","scotch bonnet, left whole",{"ref":132,"qty":97,"unit":133,"name":134,"group":103},"stock","l","lamb or vegetable stock",{"ref":85,"qty":105,"unit":109,"name":136,"group":137},"carrots, in thick chunks","For the vegetables",{"ref":84,"qty":139,"unit":89,"name":140,"group":137},400,"white cabbage, in wedges through the core",{"ref":142,"qty":143,"unit":89,"name":144,"group":137},"pumpkin",300,"pumpkin or butternut squash, in thick chunks",{"ref":146,"qty":147,"unit":89,"name":148,"group":137},"sweet-potato",250,"sweet potato, in thick chunks",{"qty":150,"unit":151,"name":152,"group":153},null,"to taste","salt and black pepper","To finish",[155,160,163,167,172,176,179],{"title":156,"text":157,"timerSeconds":158,"tip":159},"Damp and rub the couscous","Tip the millet couscous into a wide bowl, sprinkle over half the salted water and rub the grains between your palms for 2 minutes until they feel evenly damp and no dry flour clings to the bowl. Leave it to swell for 10 minutes.",600,"Grains should separate when you squeeze a handful and open your fingers. If they hold together as a lump, they are too wet.",{"title":161,"text":162,"timerSeconds":158},"Brown the lamb","Season the lamb and brown it in the oil in the base of a couscoussier or heavy pot over high heat, in two batches, about 5 minutes each, until the pieces are crusted and dark. Set them aside.",{"title":164,"text":165,"timerSeconds":166},"Build the sauce","Cook the onions in the same pot over medium heat for 8 minutes until slumped, add the garlic and tomato paste and fry 5 minutes more until the paste turns brick-dark and catches slightly. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, crush in the nététou, add the bay leaves, whole chilli, stock and the browned lamb.",780,{"title":168,"text":169,"timerSeconds":170,"tip":171},"First steaming","Bring the sauce to a simmer, set the steamer basket on top with the couscous piled loosely in it, seal the join with a damp cloth and steam for 15 minutes, until wisps of steam come evenly through the surface of the grain.",900,"Steam escaping around the rim instead of through the couscous means the seal has failed and the grain will stay raw.",{"title":173,"text":174,"timerSeconds":170,"tip":175},"Rake, then steam twice more","Tip the couscous back into the bowl, break it up with a fork, sprinkle over the remaining salted water and let it cool 3 minutes before returning it to steam for 15 minutes. Repeat once more, this time working the tablespoon of oil through with your fingers before the final 15 minutes.","By the third round the grains should be plump, separate and tender all the way through with no chalky core when you bite one.",{"title":177,"text":178},"Cook the vegetables in the sauce","While the couscous steams, add the carrots and sweet potato to the sauce after the first steaming, and the cabbage and pumpkin after the second, pushing them under the surface. By the time the last steaming finishes they should be soft enough to break with a spoon.",{"title":180,"text":181},"Finish and assemble","Remove the chilli and bay leaves, taste the sauce and correct the salt and pepper — it should taste concentrated, since the couscous will absorb it. Spread the couscous over a wide platter, hollow out the centre, and pile in the lamb and vegetables with plenty of sauce spooned over.",{"calories":183,"protein":184,"carbs":185,"fat":186,"fiber":187,"sodium":188,"estimated":124},700,38,72,28,9,820,[190],{"src":191,"alt":192},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thiere\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of pale millet couscous hollowed in the centre and filled with lamb, pumpkin, cabbage and carrot in red sauce",[194,195,196,197,198,199,200],"thiere","bassi salte","millet couscous","senegalese lamb","nététou","steamed grain","celebration 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tea","caffeine-free",{"slug":236,"title":237,"nativeName":238,"countrySlug":8,"region":209,"baseServings":113,"prepMinutes":239,"cookMinutes":73,"restMinutes":240,"difficulty":213,"course":241,"diet":243,"mainIngredients":244,"images":246,"keywords":250,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"dibi","Dibi (Senegalese Charcoal-Grilled Lamb with Onions)","Dibi",20,120,[242,77],"street-food",[79,80],[82,107,245],"lemon",[247],{"src":248,"alt":249},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fdibi\u002Fhero.svg","Chopped charred lamb pieces on paper covered with pale softened onions, torn baguette beside the tray",[236,251,252,253,254,255,256],"dibiterie","grilled lamb","senegalese barbecue","charcoal lamb","mustard onions","street food",{"slug":258,"title":259,"nativeName":260,"countrySlug":8,"region":209,"baseServings":113,"prepMinutes":261,"cookMinutes":73,"restMinutes":73,"difficulty":75,"course":262,"diet":264,"mainIngredients":266,"images":269,"keywords":273,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"fataya","Fataya (Senegalese Fried Fish Turnovers)","Fataya",45,[242,263],"snack",[265,79],"pescatarian",[267,268,107,223],"white-fish","flour",[270],{"src":271,"alt":272},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ffataya\u002Fhero.svg","Golden fork-crimped half-moon pastries stacked on a plate beside a bowl of raw onion and chilli lime sauce",[258,274,275,276,277,278],"fish turnover","senegalese pastry","kaani sauce","west african street food","fried snack",{"slug":280,"title":281,"nativeName":282,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":283,"cookMinutes":284,"difficulty":75,"course":285,"diet":286,"mainIngredients":287,"images":291,"keywords":295,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"senegalese-mafe","Mafé (Senegalese Peanut Butter Stew)","Maafe",25,100,[77],[79,80],[288,289,290,146,117],"beef-chuck","peanut-butter","cassava",[292],{"src":293,"alt":294},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-mafe\u002Fhero.svg","Thick rust-orange groundnut stew with chunks of beef, cassava and carrot, oil pooling on the surface, beside white rice",[296,297,298,299,300,301,302],"mafe","maafe","groundnut stew","peanut stew","tigadegena","senegalese beef","west african",{"slug":304,"title":305,"nativeName":306,"countrySlug":8,"region":209,"baseServings":113,"prepMinutes":211,"cookMinutes":307,"restMinutes":308,"difficulty":213,"course":309,"diet":311,"mainIngredients":312,"images":313,"keywords":317,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"ndambe","Ndambé (Senegalese Bean Stew Sandwich)","Ndambe",75,480,[310,242],"breakfast",[217,218,79],[107,120,117,129],[314],{"src":315,"alt":316},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fndambe\u002Fhero.svg","Split baguette filled with dark red-brown cowpea stew, scallions scattered over the top, held over paper wrapping",[304,318,319,320,321,322],"bean sandwich","black-eyed peas","senegalese breakfast","dakar street food","vegan west african",{"slug":324,"title":325,"nativeName":326,"countrySlug":8,"region":327,"baseServings":113,"prepMinutes":283,"cookMinutes":328,"restMinutes":329,"difficulty":213,"course":330,"diet":331,"mainIngredients":332,"images":334,"keywords":338,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"senegalese-poulet-yassa","Poulet Yassa (Senegalese Lemon and Onion Chicken)","Yassa ginaar","Casamance",55,240,[77],[79,80],[333,107,245],"chicken",[335],{"src":336,"alt":337},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-poulet-yassa\u002Fhero.svg","Browned chicken pieces buried in a tangle of softened golden onions with lemon wedges and white rice alongside",[339,340,341,342,343,344,345],"poulet yassa","yassa chicken","lemon chicken","onion sauce","senegalese","casamance","west african braise",{"slug":347,"title":348,"nativeName":349,"countrySlug":8,"region":327,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":350,"difficulty":75,"course":351,"diet":353,"mainIngredients":354,"images":358,"keywords":362,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"soupou-kandia","Soupou Kandia (Senegalese Okra and Palm Oil Stew)","Soupu kanja",50,[352,77],"soup",[265,79,219],[355,267,356,357],"okra","shrimp","rice",[359],{"src":360,"alt":361},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsoupou-kandia\u002Fhero.svg","Deep orange okra and palm oil stew with fish pieces and shrimp, ladled over a mound of white rice in a bowl",[363,364,365,366,367,368],"soupou kandia","okra stew","palm oil","senegalese seafood","west african okra","soupu kanja",{"slug":370,"title":371,"nativeName":372,"countrySlug":8,"region":209,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":211,"cookMinutes":283,"restMinutes":240,"difficulty":213,"course":373,"diet":375,"mainIngredients":376,"images":381,"keywords":385,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"thiakry","Thiakry (Senegalese Millet Couscous Yogurt Dessert)","Caakiri",[374],"dessert",[217,219,220],[377,378,379,380],"millet","yogurt","condensed-milk","nutmeg",[382],{"src":383,"alt":384},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fthiakry\u002Fhero.svg","Glass of thick pale millet and yoghurt dessert speckled with grated nutmeg, a long spoon resting inside",[370,386,387,388,389,390,391],"caakiri","degue","millet dessert","yogurt pudding","senegalese sweet","no-bake",{"slug":393,"title":394,"nativeName":395,"romanized":396,"countrySlug":8,"region":397,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":398,"cookMinutes":284,"difficulty":399,"course":400,"diet":401,"mainIngredients":402,"images":404,"keywords":408,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},"senegalese-thieboudienne","Thieboudienne (Senegalese Fish and Broken Rice)","Ceebu jën","Ceebu jen","Saint-Louis",40,"hard",[77],[265,79],[267,357,290,84,403],"tamarind",[405],{"src":406,"alt":407},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsenegalese-thieboudienne\u002Fhero.svg","Platter of orange broken rice topped with fish steaks, cassava, carrot and cabbage wedges with a whole red chilli",[409,410,411,412,302,413,414],"thieboudienne","ceebu jen","senegalese fish rice","broken rice","national dish","one pot",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"difficulty":75,"course":416,"diet":417,"mainIngredients":418,"images":419,"keywords":421,"publishedAt":201,"updatedAt":201,"authorSlug":202},[77],[79,80],[82,83,84,85],[420],{"src":191,"alt":192},[194,195,196,197,198,199,200],24,false,1787360056732]