Burkinabé Tô

The go-to food item in Burkina Faso is tô [rhymes with dough]. A source of carbohydrates, tô is a cooked mixture of water and millet, cornmeal or sorghum that is formed into small balls. It is not eaten on its own, but dipped into sauces, soups or stews, and because it is bland, it takes on those flavors. Children in the United States may find it a fun food because it is eaten by hand.

Yield: 8 servings
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 cups water 
• ½ lb. millet flour or cornmeal, divided 
• 2 tbsp. butter or margarine

Directions

1. In a large pot over high heat, bring water to boil. Slowly add about 1/4 of the flour or cornmeal. Stir quickly and constantly for about 5 minutes so no lumps form. 
2. Reduce heat. With a large spoon, scoop out about 1/4 of the mixture and set it aside in a bowl. 
3. Add the remaining flour or cornmeal, about a cup at a time, to pot. Stir vigorously each time more is added. Stir in butter. If mixture becomes too thick to stir, add some of the mixture that was set aside. After about 5 minutes of adding flour, the smooth paste should be too thick to stir. 
4. Reduce heat to very low. Cover pot and cook 10 more minutes. 
5. Remove pot from heat. Shape paste into balls, sprinkle with salt to taste and serve along with stew, sauce or soup.