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Malian tô (millet swallow)
Tô: Mali's stiff millet or sorghum swallow, eaten with okra or baobab-leaf sauce
Across Mali, from Bamako courtyards to villages along the Niger, the evening meal very often means tô: a firm, smooth paste of millet or sorghum flour, beaten in a pot over the fire until it holds its shape. It is the plain, filling partner to slippery sauces of okra or baobab leaf (lalo), torn off with the right hand and dipped. Tô has a mild, slightly sour grain taste and a texture like firm polenta. A little tamarind water or lime helps it set and keeps it from tasting flat. Chef's tip: add the flour to the porridge in several small batches and beat hard after each one; dumping it all in at once is the classic mistake, and it leaves dry lumps that never smooth out.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups cold water
- 4 ½ cups water
- 2 tbsp tamarind water or lime juicetamarind pulp soaked in warm water and strained
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Whisk 3 ½ oz gluten-free millet or sorghum flour (100 g) with 1 ¼ cups cold water to a smooth slurry.
Step 2: Bring 4 ½ cups water to the boil in a heavy pot with 2 tbsp tamarind water or lime juice. Pour in the slurry while stirring and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until it becomes a thin, glossy porridge.
5 minStep 3: Ladle out about a quarter of the porridge into a bowl and keep it aside.
Step 4: Add the remaining 10 ½ oz gluten-free millet or sorghum flour to the pot a handful at a time, beating hard with a strong wooden spatula against the side of the pot after each addition, until smooth and very thick.
8 minStep 5: If it is too stiff to beat, loosen with some of the reserved porridge; it should be firm enough to hold its shape when scooped.
Step 6: Cover, turn the heat to low and let it steam until it smells cooked and no longer of raw flour.
8 minStep 7: Beat once more, then shape portions with a wet ladle or bowl and serve hot with okra or baobab-leaf sauce.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 360 kcal
- Protein
- 11 g
- Carbs
- 72 g
- Fat
- 4 g
- Fibre
- 8 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does malian tô (millet swallow) take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 5 minutes to prepare and 25 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of tamarind water or lime juice?
- Lemon juice, same amount.
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