Thiéré

Ingredients

Couscous

• 600 gmillet couscous, thiere
• water, for steaming and sprinkling
• 1 teaspoonsalt
• 2 tablespoonsoil or butter

Sauce

• 800 gbeef, in large pieces
• 2onions, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 2 tablespoonstomato puree
• 200 gdried cowpeas or niebe, soaked
• 1aubergine, in chunks
• 2carrots, in chunks
• 200 gcabbage, in wedges
• 1sweet potato, in chunks
• 1 pieceof netetou, fermented locust bean
• 1scotch bonnet, left whole
• salt and black pepper
• 1.5 litreswater

Equipment

• a couscoussier, or a pot with a steamer basket

Directions

1. Soak the dried cowpeas overnight in cold water. Drain them and set them aside. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Brown the beef pieces well on all sides. Take the meat out and set it on a plate. Fry the onions in the same pot until soft and golden. Stir in the tomato puree and cook it for two minutes.
2. Return the beef to the pot with any juices. Pour in the water and bring it to a simmer. Add the netetou and the whole scotch bonnet. Season with salt and pepper and cover the pot. Let it simmer gently for forty-five minutes. Preparing the couscous is done while the sauce cooks. Put the dry couscous into a wide bowl. Sprinkle it with about 200 ml of salted water.
3. Rub it through your fingers to moisten every grain. Work it with your palms to break up any lumps. Let it stand for ten minutes to absorb the water. The grains should feel damp but separate. Bring the sauce pot to a steady simmer. Set the steamer basket on top of it.
4. Seal the join with a strip of damp cloth or dough. Steam escaping at the join is steam not reaching the grain. Tip the moistened couscous loosely into the basket. Do not press it down at any point. Cover it and steam it for twenty minutes. Steam should be rising through the surface by the end. Tip the couscous back into the wide bowl.
5. Break up all the lumps with a fork or wet hands. Be careful because it is very hot at this stage. Sprinkle over another 150 ml of water. Work the oil or butter through the grains. Let it rest for ten minutes to absorb again.
6. Return it to the basket and steam it for twenty minutes more. Finishing the sauce is done in the last half hour. Add the soaked cowpeas to the simmering pot. Give them twenty minutes before the vegetables. Add the aubergine and cabbage ten minutes later. Cabbage cooks fast and turns to mush if added early.
7. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. It should be savoury and deeply flavoured. Pile the steamed couscous into a wide bowl or platter. Ladle sauce over the middle of the mound. Arrange the meat and vegetables on top. Pour extra broth into a jug for the table. Leftover couscous keeps for two days and resteams well.

Technique

• Broken rice became the Senegalese staple during the colonial period when it was imported cheaply from Southeast Asia.
• Millet dishes like thiere had been the everyday food before that shift, and remain central to celebrations and religious occasions.

Substitutions

• Wheat couscous can be used and cooks faster, though the flavour and colour are quite different.
• Lamb, chicken or dried fish all replace the beef in different households.

Variations

• Thiakry is a sweet version of millet couscous served with sour milk and sugar.
• Some cooks serve thiere with a peanut sauce instead of the vegetable one.
• A version with only vegetables and beans is made during fasting.

History

Millet couscous steamed in a stacked pot; before broken rice arrived in the nineteenth century, millet was the everyday Senegalese staple grain.

Frequently asked questions

What is Thiéré?

Thiéré is a main from Senegal: steamed millet couscous with meat and vegetable-bean sauce. Millet couscous steamed in a stacked pot; before broken rice arrived in the nineteenth century, millet was the everyday Senegalese staple grain.

How long does Thiéré take to make?

Thiéré takes 45 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 30 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Thiéré?

Yes, within limits. Wheat couscous can be used and cooks faster, though the flavour and colour are quite different. Lamb, chicken or dried fish all replace the beef in different households.

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

Return the beef to the pot with any juices. Pour in the water and bring it to a simmer. Add the netetou and the whole scotch bonnet. Season with salt and pepper and cover the pot. Let it simmer gently for forty-five minutes. Preparing the couscous is done while the sauce cooks. Put the dry couscous into a wide bowl. Sprinkle it with about 200 ml of salted water.