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Lakh (millet porridge with sweet curd)
Laax: Dakar's millet porridge under a cool blanket of sweetened curd and baobab
Thick, warm millet porridge topped with cold, sweetened curd: lakh is a Senegalese pairing of contrasts that turns up at naming ceremonies, family gatherings and on Ramadan evenings in Dakar. The millet is rolled into tiny pellets and simmered until it sets like soft polenta, then a creamy sauce of soured milk, sugar and baobab powder is poured over, its tang lifted by vanilla or orange flower water. Each spoonful mixes chewy, nutty grains with something cool and lightly sour. Plain yoghurt mixed with a little cream stands in well for Senegalese soow; use pasteurised dairy and keep leftovers in the fridge. Don't pour the curd over hot porridge; let the lakh cool so the curd stays thick and fresh. Chef's tip: cool the porridge until just warm before adding the curd, so the sauce stays thick instead of thinning out.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
For the millet porridge
- 9 oz gluten-free millet flouror 250 g ready-made araw (millet pellets)
- ½ cup waterfor rolling
- 1 pinch salt
- 5 cups water
For the sweet curd
- 1 ⅛ lb plain whole-milk yoghurtpasteurised
- ½ cup double cream or crème fraîchepasteurised
- 3 ⅛ oz sugar
- 2 tbsp baobab fruit powder
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp orange flower water (optional)
- 1 pinch grated nutmeg (optional)
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Put 9 oz gluten-free millet flour and 1 pinch salt in a wide bowl and sprinkle with ½ cup water a spoonful at a time, rubbing with your fingertips in circles until the flour forms small pellets the size of peppercorns. Shake through a coarse sieve and re-roll any loose flour.
15 minStep 2: Bring 5 cups water to the boil in a heavy pan. Rain in the pellets while stirring, lower the heat and simmer, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until thick and glossy and the grains are tender.
30 minStep 3: Spoon into a serving dish or bowls and leave to cool until just warm; it firms as it cools.
15 minStep 4: Whisk 1 ⅛ lb plain whole-milk yoghurt, ½ cup double cream or crème fraîche, 3 ⅛ oz sugar, 2 tbsp baobab fruit powder, 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 tsp orange flower water until smooth and the sugar has mostly dissolved. Taste: it should be sweet with a clear tang.
Step 5: Pour the curd over the porridge, dust with 1 pinch grated nutmeg and serve at once, or chill for up to a day.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 52 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
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Good to know
- How long does lakh (millet porridge with sweet curd) take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 35 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- 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 plain whole-milk yoghurt?
- Sour cream or buttermilk, same amount.
- What can I use instead of double cream or crème fraîche?
- Sour cream or Greek yoghurt, same amount (add yoghurt off the heat so it doesn't split).
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