Thiebou Dienn Sous Verre (Senegalese Rice and Fish Stew)
Chicken Yassa
Mafe (Peanut Butter Stew)
Tiakri (Steamed Millet Couscous)
Mafé that is found all over West Africa. Senegalese Mafé is chicken, beef or lamb covered in a creamy peanut-tomato sauce and served with seasonal vegetables and rice. Distinctive, earthy-tasting red palm oil colors some of the sauces. If you are sincere, guedge, smoked fish, or yete, smoked mollusks will determine your sense of authenticity. Fish is a mainstay of Senegalese cooking, since the majority of the population lives in coastal cities, and Thiebou Dienn--fish with rice--is the national dish. You will often see versions of Thiebou Dienn, but to prepare it the classic way takes time and is reserved for special occasions. The fish is cut into steaks and has slits cut into it. It's seasoned with parsley and garlic, pushed into the slices." The fish is then grilled and served with rice and vegetables. the rice used in Thiebou Dienn is "very similar in taste and look to the red rice of Charleston and the Low Country (coastal South Carolina and Georgia)." The dish is evidence of the culinary traditions that came to America with people taken from West Africa in the slave trade.
The Senegalese are famous for their teranga, hospitality. A Senegalese host or hostess is sure to direct you through a traditional meal, but follow this general guide to proper etiquette. First, take off your shoes when entering the dining area, and wash your hands before eating. Harris shares what to expect next: "They have wonderful enameled basins--I'm sure traditionally they were calabashes." As the bowl is the traditional connection to ancestors at the meal, never step over or move it during the meal. "They will put a lovely, even a fancy linen or damask tablecloth on the floor--the immaculately clean floor, one might add--and then one sits around the basin and eats with one's hands, right hand only. In the Islamic tradition the left hand is considered unclean. A guest who is having trouble eating this way may be given a spoon. You eat from area of the basin that is in front of you--it would be bad manners to wander elsewhere and infringe on the portions of others. Don't worry that your neighbor will get all the good stuff: It is the hostess' job to make sure each person's portion has "tasty bits and tempting morsels...
