Songhai & Tuareg · Jute Leaf Soup
Fakou (Jute Leaf Soup)
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A visible sheen of oil floating on top while fakou cooks is considered a mark of a well-made pot, a sign cooks watch for rather than something to skim off.
Dried jute leaves are ground down and simmered into a dark green, slightly thick soup with lamb or beef, butter, and a long list of spices, including soumbala, dried small fish, date paste, and cinnamon. It's served over rice, most often in Songhai and Tuareg households of northern Mali.
Why it's made this way: Fakou is a defining dish of the Songhai and Tuareg communities of northern Mali and neighboring Niger, and its spice list, blending Saharan trade goods like cinnamon and dates with Sahelian staples like soumbala and jute, traces the historic trading routes that ran through Timbuktu.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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