The 20 most famous dishes of Mauritania
Mauritanian cooking meets the desert and the ocean, blending Arab-Amazigh nomad food with West African cuisine — camel meat and milk alongside fish rice and the famous atay tea.
1Thieboudienne
Rice with herb-stuffed fish and vegetables in tomato sauce — the signature dish of the Mauritanian and…
2Maru we Llham
Rice with lamb, vegetables and tomato — the everyday dish in Mauritanian homes.
3Mauritanian Méchoui
A whole lamb slow-roasted over embers, served at weddings and to honoured guests.
4Mauritanian Couscous
Couscous with lamb or camel and vegetables, served at family occasions.
5Mafé (Peanut Stew)
Meat stew in peanut and tomato sauce, served with white rice — a West African favourite in Mauritania.
6Chicken Yassa
Chicken marinated in lemon, onion and mustard and cooked until the onions caramelise, served with rice.
7Camel Meat Stew
Camel meat stew with onion, tomato and spices — an authentic food of the Mauritanian desert.
8Mauritanian Brochettes
Lamb or camel skewers grilled on charcoal on the street, served with onion and mustard.
9Lakh
Steamed millet grains served with sweetened curdled milk — a refreshing dessert.
10Bassi
Steamed millet couscous eaten with milk or with a meat sauce.
11El Aïch
Millet or sorghum porridge eaten with milk or a meat sauce — the desert's staple food.
12Thiakry
A dessert of millet with yoghurt, cream, raisins and nutmeg.
13Atay (Mauritanian Tea)
Strong green tea with mint prepared in three rounds — bitter as life, sweet as love, gentle as death — with a…
14Zrig
A refreshing drink of camel or goat milk mixed with water and sugar, offered to guests in the heat.
15Bissap
Red hibiscus drink with mint, drunk cold in every home.
16Fish Pastels
Fried half-moon pastries filled with fish, onion and parsley, served with spicy tomato sauce.
17Fish Boulettes
Minced fish balls with parsley and garlic, simmered in tomato sauce and served with rice.
18Akara
Fried balls of ground black-eyed peas, eaten with hot sauce in the morning.
19Tichtar
Sun-dried meat cooked with onion and spices — desert travellers' food.
20Dates with Butter
The famous dates of Adrar served with fresh country butter or camel-milk butter — the first thing offered to…