The Art of Kneading from the Dry Land of the Sahel
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa. Most of its land is covered with the dry grasslands of the Sahel, and its name is said to mean "land of upright people." Lying on the southern edge of the Sahara, with its alternating rainy and dry seasons and harsh climate, its people have built a surprisingly rich food culture from a limited range of grains. At the center is tô (Tô / Toh).
Tô is a chewy staple made by cooking sorghum or millet flour in water and kneading it. Its texture sits between Japanese mochi and the ugali of East Africa, and in the mouth the plain sweetness of the grain spreads slowly. In Burkina Faso it appears at the table morning, noon, and night, and is always eaten with a sauce, especially okra sauce (sauce gombo) or baobab-leaf sauce (sauce de feuilles de baobab).
Similar dishes are known as tô in francophone West Africa, and as TZ (Ghana) and tuwo (Nigeria) elsewhere. The grain may be sorghum, millet, or corn flour. In Burkina Faso, sorghum flour is considered the most traditional, giving a reddish-brown finish. It belongs to the same family of kneaded staples as fufu from Ghana and ugali from Tanzania, but the grain and the kneading differ, and so do the texture and flavor.
Search for "tô Burkina Faso" in English and you will find several recipe sites and food-culture writings, but the dish gets little attention elsewhere. While West African dishes like maafe from Mali (in Japanese) and thieboudienne from Senegal (in Japanese) draw attention, the staple itself is still rarely discussed. This article explains how tô, made daily in Burkinabè homes, can be reproduced with ingredients available outside West Africa.
Ingredients (serves 4)
A traditional West African umami seasoning made by fermenting the seeds of the néré tree (Parkia biglobosa). Beneath a powerful smell lies a deep savoriness resembling cheese or miso, and it is essential to Burkinabè sauces. It is called dawadawa in English and soumbala in French. It is hard to find outside West Africa, but miso is the closest substitute as a fermented food: the soy umami and saltiness do the job of soumbala.
Cooking Tips
During the kneading, hold the heat low. At medium or above the bottom scorches instantly and the bitterness spreads through the whole batch. Tô is a dish of low heat and patience; once you smell scorching, it is too late. A heavy-bottomed enameled pot or Dutch oven is ideal.
Store-bought sorghum flour comes in fine and coarse grinds. For tô, use the fine one. A coarse grind forms lumps easily and leaves a gritty finish. Check the label before buying and choose one marked "fine" or "finely ground."
If you cannot get sorghum flour, cornmeal can stand in, but because corn has a different flavor, mixing in 30 percent whole wheat flour makes up for a grain complexity closer to sorghum. Cornmeal also absorbs less water than sorghum flour, so cut the water by about 50 ml.
Tô gets firm as it cools, and this is normal. To reheat, put the amount you need in a pot, add 2–3 tbsp water, and knead it again over low heat. Heating it in the microwave for 30 seconds first and then kneading is an easy alternative.
Variations
Baobab-leaf sauce
In place of the okra sauce, rehydrate 3 tbsp dried baobab leaf (powder) in 300 ml water to make the sauce. Baobab leaves have a slime like okra and a refreshing sourness reminiscent of lemon, and it is a sauce that stimulates the appetite in the hot season. Dried baobab leaf is available from African grocers and online as "baobab leaf powder."
Peanut sauce
Pairing with the peanut sauce of maafe from Mali (in Japanese) is also a common choice in Burkina Faso. Tear the tô and dip it in peanut sauce, and the plain sweetness of the grain and the richness of the nuts mingle for a superb taste. Make just the sauce part of the maafe recipe and pair it with tô to enjoy a crossover of Burkinabè and Malian food culture.
Millet-flour tô
Using millet flour in place of sorghum flour gives a brighter yellow tô. Millet is sweeter than sorghum and finishes lighter in texture. Look for millet in the grain section or at natural food stores.
Spinach sauce
If you do not like okra, make the sauce with 300 g spinach and 200 g canned tomatoes. Boil the spinach for 5 minutes, chop it finely, and simmer for 10 minutes with onion, garlic, and tomato sautéed in palm oil. It is a leafy-green sauce in the manner of isombe from Rwanda, also good for people who dislike okra's sliminess.
Curry-style serving
The flavor of the tô itself is the plain sweetness of the grain, so it also goes well with curry. Place tô next to a curry in place of rice, tear it off, and dip it. It can be enjoyed like a gluten-free "curry and naan." The chewiness of the sorghum flour holds up the curry spices.
Background of the Dish
The grain culture of the Sahel
Burkina Faso is a landlocked country on the southern edge of the Sahara, in the Sahel. Rainfall is limited, so it is not suited to growing wheat or rice. In this harsh environment, drought-tolerant sorghum and millet have been grown for thousands of years.
Sorghum and millet are central staples of the Sahel. Kneaded staples of West Africa fall broadly into three lines: root-based (cassava, yam), as in fufu; grain-based (corn), as in ugali; and millet-based (sorghum, millet), of which tô is the purest form.
Sorghum as a food
Sorghum is a grain of nutritional interest. It is gluten-free, so it is a safe grain for people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, and it supplies fiber and minerals. The red sorghum used for traditional tô is rich in polyphenols.
Sorghum is being reassessed around the world as a crop adapted to climate change. It is highly drought tolerant. In the United States and elsewhere, the market for sorghum flour as a gluten-free grain is growing, and white sorghum has begun to enter the gluten-free market in other countries as well.
The tool and the technique
The traditional tool for making tô is a wooden stick called the bâton de tô, about 80 cm to 1 m long. Its tip flares slightly, and it uses leverage to knead the heavy dough efficiently.
Read Next
Burkina Faso's tô is one wing of West Africa's kneaded-staple culture. Do try other kneaded staples and West African dishes.
- Fufu (Ghana) — a kneaded staple of pounded cassava and plantain. The root-based classic
- Ugali (Tanzania) — a kneaded staple of corn flour. East Africa's soul food
- Maafe (Mali) (in Japanese) — a peanut-sauce stew. Pairs superbly with tô
- Thieboudienne (Senegal) (in Japanese) — a West African stew of fish and rice
- Ndolé (Cameroon) (in Japanese) — bitterleaf and peanut stew
More to Cook
- Muamba de galinha - Uses ingredients and aromas from the same region.
- Ful medames - Uses ingredients and aromas from the same region.
- Kitfo (in Japanese) - Uses ingredients and aromas from the same region.
- Eba (in Japanese) - Uses ingredients and aromas from the same region.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between tô and ugali?
Ugali is made mainly from corn flour, while tô is made mainly from sorghum flour. Ugali is a little firmer and cleaner in taste, whereas tô is chewier with a richer grain flavor. The method differs too: tô starts with a slurry and then adds flour, whereas ugali adds flour directly to boiling water.
Is sorghum flour healthy?
Sorghum is gluten-free and rich in fiber and minerals. It is also a low-GI food, and may help temper sharp rises in blood sugar.
Can I keep it in the refrigerator?
Tô keeps for 2 days in the refrigerator. Put it in an airtight container with plastic wrap pressed against the surface. To reheat, put it in a pot with 2–3 tbsp water and knead it again over low heat, or heat in the microwave for 30 seconds and then mix. The okra sauce keeps 3 days refrigerated and 1 month frozen.
Nutrition (per serving, one of 4)
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 420kcal |
| Protein | 12g |
| Fat | 14g |
| Carbohydrate | 65g |
| Fiber | 8g |
| Sodium | 480mg |
| Iron | 4.2mg |
| Magnesium | 98mg |
