Thiéré Bassi Salté — Senegal

Thiéré bassi salté names a steamed millet couscous prepared in its savory form, as opposed to the sweetened version served with soured milk or peanuts. The grain, called thiéré or bassi in Wolof, is steamed rather than boiled, a technique shared with couscous traditions found more widely across the region. It is reported as a household dish in Senegal, most often prepared for a shared midday meal, where the steamed grain is topped with a meat and vegetable sauce built to feed several people from one pot. Families vary the vegetables and the cut of meat according to season and to what is available. Preparation is built around repeated steaming: the coarse millet grain is moistened and rubbed by hand to separate the grains, then steamed over simmering water, fluffed, and steamed again so it turns light rather than gluey. Alongside, meat is browned with onions before tomatoes, stock and a chili are added, with root vegetables and cabbage simmered in until tender. What marks this savory version is the choice to serve the couscous with a full vegetable-and-meat sauce rather than with milk or a sweetened topping, and the number of times the grain is steamed before it is judged ready. Other preparations of millet couscous in the region lean sweet or use different vegetables, without either being more correct than another.