🇬🇳 Guinean Cuisine

Couscous Guinéen

Guinean Steamed Couscous

Prep Time 1 hour 30 min

Servings 6

Difficulty Hard

Calories 524 kcal

Hand-rolled and steamed couscous made from fonio or millet, served with a rich lamb and vegetable sauce — a dish of pride in the Fouta Djallon highlands.

Ingredients

3 cups fonio or millet flour
500g lamb, cubed
3 tomatoes, blended
2 onions, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 turnip, diced
200g cabbage, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bouillon cubes
1 tsp cumin
Salt to taste
Water for steaming

Instructions

1 Moisten fonio flour with water and work into tiny granules by hand-rolling.
2 Steam granules in a couscoussier for 20 minutes. Remove, fluff, and re-moisten.
3 Steam a second time for 15 minutes until light and fluffy.
4 Meanwhile, brown lamb in oil. Add onions, tomatoes, and cook 10 minutes.
5 Add vegetables, bouillon, cumin, and water. Simmer 30 minutes until lamb is tender.
6 Mound couscous on a platter and ladle sauce over top.

Did You Know?

In the Fouta Djallon, a bride's ability to hand-roll perfect couscous granules is considered as important as any other skill she brings to the marriage.