Mauritanian Recipes

Mauritanian cooking blends the desert traditions of the Moorish Hassaniya-speaking majority with the rice-and-fish cooking of the Atlantic coast and the Senegal river valley. Meat, especially lamb, goat and camel, is prized, and meals are shared from a big platter, eaten with the right hand or a spoon. Couscous, millet and rice are the main starches, and dates and milk are everyday foods. On the coast, thieboudienne, a one-pot dish of fish, vegetables and tomato rice, is widely called the national dish. For weddings and Eid, families roast lamb, called méchoui, or serve couscous with meat and vegetables. Milk drinks such as zrig are popular during Ramadan, and tea is a ritual: strong, sweet green tea is poured from a height into small glasses in three rounds. Seasoning is simple, built on onion, garlic, black pepper and a little chili, and alcohol is not part of the traditional table.

Staple ingredients

• rice
• couscous
• millet
• lamb and goat
• camel milk
• dates
• dried and fresh fish
• green tea and mint

• Main Dishes 3
• Desserts 1
• Drinks 2

Main Dishes

• Mauritanian Couscous with Lamb and VegetablesMR2 h 30 minMedium
• Méchoui (Mauritanian Slow-Roast Lamb)MR3 h 50 minEasy
• Thieboudienne (Mauritanian Fish and Rice in Tomato Sauce)MR2 h 10 minMedium

Desserts

• Lakh (Mauritanian Millet and Sour Milk Pudding)MR1 h 10 minMedium

Drinks

• Atay (Mauritanian Three-Round Mint Tea)MR35 minMedium
• Zrig (Mauritanian Sweet Milk Drink)MR10 minEasy