🇹🇩 Chadian Cuisine

Boule

Millet Ball with Sauce

Prep Time 30 min
Servings 4
Difficulty Easy
Calories 303 kcal

A firm millet porridge ball served with a rich okra and dried meat sauce. Chad's most fundamental daily meal.

Ingredients

  • 300g millet flour (or sorghum flour)
  • 900ml water, divided
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • For sauce: 200g dried beef (soaked and shredded), 200g okra (sliced into rings), 1 onion (diced), 2 tbsp groundnut paste, 2 tomatoes (pureed), 2 tbsp oil, salt to taste

Instructions

  1. 1 Mix approximately one third of the millet flour with two hundred and fifty millilitres of cold water in a bowl, stirring until you have a smooth, thin paste with no lumps. Set this slurry aside while you bring the remaining water to a boil.
  2. 2 Bring six hundred and fifty millilitres of water with the salt to a vigorous boil in a large, heavy pot. Pour the millet slurry into the boiling water in a steady stream, stirring constantly with a strong wooden spoon to prevent clumping.
  3. 3 Reduce the heat to medium-low and gradually add the remaining dry millet flour, a couple of tablespoons at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition. The mixture will become progressively thicker and harder to stir.
  4. 4 Continue cooking and stirring for fifteen to twenty minutes until the boule is extremely thick, smooth, and pulls away from the pot sides cleanly. It should form a solid mass that holds its shape when mounded.
  5. 5 For the dipping sauce, heat oil in a separate pot and saute the diced onion until soft. Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for five minutes, then stir in the groundnut paste, sliced okra, and soaked dried beef with enough water to create a thick sauce.
  6. 6 Simmer the sauce for twenty minutes until the okra softens and the flavours meld together. Wet your hands and shape the boule into smooth, ball-shaped mounds on a plate, then serve with the sauce alongside for dipping.

Did You Know?

Boule is eaten three times a day by many Chadians and is the foundation of the national diet.

From The Culinary Codex — http://theculinarycodex.com/dish/chadian/boule-chad/