Thiakry, Senegalese Millet Pudding
Thiakry, also called degue, is the sweet millet bowl eaten across Senegal and much of West Africa, a mix of steamed grain and cultured milk served cold at celebrations and after meals. The usual bowl is sweetened with sugar and perfumed with nutmeg or orange-flower water. Here dates carry all the sweetness and unsweetened plant yogurt stands in for the cultured milk, so it lands closer to a grain pudding than a dessert of empty sugar. Cook the millet a little dry and cool it fully before folding it in, since warm grain will slump and thicken the yogurt into glue.
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup Millet
- 1 1/2 cups Plain plant yogurt
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/4 cup Raisins
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg, grated
Method
- Rinse the millet, add it to 1.5 cups (355 ml) water, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, about 18 minutes. Spread it on a plate to cool. Cooling the grain before it meets the yogurt keeps the millet in distinct, separate beads instead of turning the pudding into paste, which is the texture thiakry is known for.
- While the millet cooks, cover the raisins with hot water for 10 minutes to plump them, then drain.
- Blend the dates with 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water into a smooth caramel. This date paste does the sweetening a big spoonful of sugar would in a traditional bowl, but brings fiber along with the sweetness.
- Fold the yogurt, date paste, and grated nutmeg together, then stir in the cooled millet and the raisins. Chill for at least 30 minutes. The rest firms the pudding and lets the nutmeg and date bloom through the yogurt. Serve cold.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 220 calories, 6 g protein, 5 g fiber, 45 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
