Market Staple · Fermented Seasoning
Soumbala
Photo: T.K. Naliaka / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Soumbala is made by boiling and fermenting the seeds of the néré tree for up to three days until they turn into a pungent, protein-dense paste, a distant cousin in method to Japanese natto.
Small dark balls or discs of fermented, sun-dried African locust bean paste, sold loose by weight in Ségou's markets and stirred into tô sauces, rice dishes, and stews for a deep umami backbone. Its pungent aroma is unmistakable from several stalls away.
Why it's made this way: Soumbala, made from the pods of the néré (African locust bean) tree that grows across the Sahel, is one of the oldest fermented seasonings in Bambara cooking, and market women in towns like Ségou still process and sell it much as their grandmothers did.
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