Ngalakh

Ingredients

Couscous

• 500 gfine millet couscous (thiéré or arraw), or fine wheat couscous
• 150 mlwater
• ½ tspsalt
• 1 tbspneutral oil

Baobab and peanut cream

• 250 gdried baobab fruit pulp (bouye or pain de singe), the white powdery pods broken up
• 1 litrewarm water
• 300 gpure unsweetened peanut paste (tigadege)
• 200 gsugar, or to taste

Flavour and fruit

• 1 tspgrated nutmeg
• 1 tbspvanilla extract or 1 vanilla pod, scraped
• 1 tbsporange blossom water
• 150 graisins
• 100 gdates, pitted and chopped
• 1 pinchsalt

To serve

• 200 mlsweetened condensed milk or thick sour cream (optional)
• Toasted peanuts, crushed

Directions

1. Soak the baobab pulp in the litre of warm water for 30 minutes, working it with your fingers until the white powder dissolves off the black seeds and the liquid thickens to a tart, cloudy cream.
2. Push it through a sieve, pressing hard, and discard the seeds and fibre. You should have about 900 ml of pale, sharply acidic baobab juice; it tastes like sherbet and citrus.
3. Sprinkle the couscous with the salted water and the oil and rub it between your palms so every grain is separate and damp. Let it swell 10 minutes.
4. Steam the couscous in a couscoussier or a sieve set over boiling water for 20 minutes, tip it out, break up the lumps with a fork, sprinkle with a little more water and steam a second time for 15 minutes. The double steam is what gives light, distinct grains; boiling the couscous instead gives a paste.
5. Loosen the peanut paste with 300 ml of the baobab juice, whisking to a smooth cream with no lumps, then stir it into the rest of the juice.
6. Warm the peanut and baobab mixture in a pan over low heat with the sugar for 10 minutes, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and it thickens slightly. Do not boil hard; the peanut oil will split out.
7. Off the heat, stir in the nutmeg, vanilla, orange blossom water, salt, raisins and dates.
8. Fold the warm steamed couscous into the cream in three additions, mixing gently. The finished ngalakh should be loose and spoonable, like a thick porridge; it firms considerably as it chills, so err on the runny side.
9. Chill at least 4 hours, ideally overnight. Serve cold in bowls or cups, topped with condensed milk or sour cream and a scatter of crushed peanuts.

Technique

• Ngalakh is made on Good Friday and shared by Senegalese Christians with Muslim neighbours, friends and colleagues, sent round in bowls and returned filled. That exchange, not the recipe, is the point of the dish, and it is one of the most visible expressions of Senegal’s religious coexistence.
• Baobab pulp is the souring agent and cannot be substituted convincingly. It brings both a tartness like citric acid and a natural thickening from its pectin.
• The balance to aim for is sour first, sweet second, with the peanut sitting underneath. Over-sugared ngalakh tastes like a milkshake and loses the character.
• It thickens dramatically overnight. If it has set solid, beat in a little water or milk before serving rather than adding more sugar.

Substitutions

• No millet couscous? Fine wheat couscous steamed the same way is widely used in Dakar for speed, though millet is traditional and gives a slightly grey, nuttier result.
• If dried baobab pulp is unavailable, bouye juice or frozen baobab pulp from an African grocer works; failing that, thick tamarind water plus a squeeze of lemon gives a comparable sourness with a different aroma.
• Peanut paste can be replaced by natural unsweetened peanut butter, but check there is no added sugar or palm oil.

Variations

• Sombi, the related Senegalese rice pudding cooked in milk, made for the same occasions.
• A version enriched with sour cream or crème fraîche folded through, common in Dakar households.
• Thiakry (dégué), millet couscous with sweetened sour milk and no baobab, eaten year-round.

History

Senegalese Christians make it for Good Friday and send bowls to Muslim neighbours and colleagues, a national gesture of interfaith exchange.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ngalakh?

Ngalakh is a dessert from Senegal: millet couscous with baobab fruit and peanut cream, shared at Easter. Senegalese Christians make it for Good Friday and send bowls to Muslim neighbours and colleagues, a national gesture of interfaith exchange.

How long does Ngalakh take to make?

Ngalakh takes 40 min of preparation and 1 hr plus 4 hr chilling of cooking. The recipe makes 10 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Ngalakh?

Yes, within limits. No millet couscous? Fine wheat couscous steamed the same way is widely used in Dakar for speed, though millet is traditional and gives a slightly grey, nuttier result. If dried baobab pulp is unavailable, bouye juice or frozen baobab pulp from an African grocer works; failing that, thick tamarind water plus a squeeze of lemon gives a comparable sourness with a different aroma. Peanut paste can be replaced by natural unsweetened peanut butter, but check there is no added sugar or palm oil.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ngalakh?

Warm the peanut and baobab mixture in a pan over low heat with the sugar for 10 minutes, stirring, until the sugar dissolves and it thickens slightly. Do not boil hard; the peanut oil will split out.