Lathiri or fouto

🌾 Fine millet or sorghum couscous, hand-rolled and steamed to accompany sour milk or sauce.

Ingredients

• 🌾 500 g fine millet or sorghum flour, sifted
• 💧 250–300 ml potable water at room temperature, added gradually
• 🫗 1 tablespoon neutral oil, optional, to soften the grains
• 🧂 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, optional
• 🥛 600 ml plain fermented milk or unsweetened yogurt, served separately
• 🍯 Honey or sugar, optional for a sweet version
• 🥬 A fully cooked leafy-green or peanut sauce, optional for a savory version

Preparation

🧺 Spread a clean, large cloth on the table. Sift the flour into a wide bowl and keep a little dry flour aside to correct a mixture that becomes too wet. Set up a couscoussier whose holes will not let the grains fall through; if needed, line the basket with a clean, fine cloth.

💧 First drizzle 200 ml of water over the flour while rubbing it between your palms. Do not knead it into a ball: circular movements should form tiny separate particles. Add the remaining water by spoonfuls only if the flour is still powdery, until the grains are fine and damp, rollable, and not sticky.

🫳 Roll the grains between your hands or in a wide bowl for 5–8 minutes. Pass them through a medium sieve; return larger pieces to the bowl, crumble them with your fingers and sieve again. Remove hard clumps rather than hiding them in the couscous.

♨️ Bring water to a boil in the bottom pot without letting it touch the basket. Spread the couscous loosely in an airy layer and steam for 20 minutes once steady steam forms.

🥣 Tip the hot couscous into the wide bowl. Loosen it with a fork or protected fingers, then sprinkle over about 50 ml of water. Leave it to absorb for 5 minutes; separate the grains and remove clumps before the second steaming.

🌫️ Return the grains to the basket and steam for another 20 minutes. Tip them back into the bowl, loosen them and check the center: if a grain still tastes floury, sprinkle over 30–50 ml of water and wait 5 minutes before the final steaming.

🔥 Return the couscous to the basket for a final 20 minutes. The finished grains should be tender, plump and separate, without a raw-flour taste. Off the heat, fold in the optional oil and salt with a fork; do not mash the grains.

🍽️ Serve warm or hot on a large platter. Place plain fermented milk, yogurt or an already-cooked sauce alongside so everyone can choose a sweet or savory version. Keep liquids separate until serving to preserve the light texture.