Welcome to the summary page for FabulousFusionFood's Malian recipes, part of the African Continent. This page provides links to all the Malian recipes presented on this site, with 44 recipes in total.

Mali; officially: République du Mali; Republic of Mali is the other land-locked country in West Africa (along with Burkina-Faso, above). Formerly French Sudan, the country was named after the Mali Empire following independence from France on September 22, 1960. The name of the country derives from the Bambara word for hippopotamus (with the animal appearing on the 5 franc coin), the name of its capital city, Bamako comes from the Bambara word meaning 'place of crocodiles'.

Mali has long been a part of the Arabic trade in spices and precious metals. As such this country has a rich and diverse cuisine. Malian cuisine is generally based on corn, millet, and rice porridges which can be served with a wide variety of sauces. The most famous sauces are those of ground peanuts, baobab leaves, sweet potato leaves, and okra. However, a large variety of meats and vegetables can be prepared with these sauces and served with rice, couscous, or porridge. Unlike many other West African cuisines Malian recipes are rich in proteins like Lamb, Beef, fresh or smoked fish, or Chicken. The most common Malian vegetables are tomatoes, onions, aubergines, plantain and yams. Malian recipes also make use of lemons, bananas, mangoes, and watermelon. Reflecting the Arabic tradition, the most common spices in Malian cookery are cinnamon, thyme, saffron, and cayenne.

Mali, officially the Republic of Mali, (ߡߊ߬ߟߌ ߞߊ ߝߊߛߏߖߊߡߊߣߊ[Mali ka Fasojamana in Bambara]; 𞤈𞤫𞤨𞤵𞤦𞤤𞤭𞤳 𞤦𞤵 𞤃𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 [Republik du Mali in Fula]; جُمْهُورِيَّةْ مَالِي [Jumhūriyyet Māli in Arabic]; Tɔgɔbadugu [Mali in Soninke] and ⵜⴰⴳⴷⵓⴷⴰ ⵏ ⵎⴰⵍⵉ [Tagduda n Mali in Tamasheq]) is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is the eighth-largest country in Africa, with an area of over 1,241,238 square kilometres (479,245 sq mi). The country is bordered to the north by Algeria, to the east by Niger, to the northwest by Mauritania, to the south by Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, and to the west by Guinea and Senegal. The population of Mali is 24,478,595, 47.19% of which are estimated to be under the age of 15 in 2024. Its capital and largest city is Bamako. The country has 13 official languages, of which Bambara is the most commonly spoken, although French is a frequent lingua franca.

The sovereign state's northern borders reach deep into the middle of the Sahara Desert. The country's southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, is in the Sudanian savanna and has the Niger and Senegal rivers running through it. The country's economy centres on agriculture and mining with its most prominent natural resources including gold, (of which it is the third largest producer in Africa), and salt.

Mali was part of three successive powerful and wealthy West African empires that controlled trans-Saharan trade: the Ghana Empire (for which Ghana is named), the Mali Empire (for which Mali is named), and the Songhai Empire. At its peak in 1300, the Mali Empire was the wealthiest country in Africa with its 14th-century emperor Mansa Musa believed to be one of the wealthiest individuals in history. Besides being a hub of trade and mining, medieval Mali was a centre of Islam, culture and knowledge, with Timbuktu becoming a renowned place of learning with its university, one of the oldest in the world and still active. The expanding Songhai Empire absorbed the empire in 1468,[not verified in body] followed by a Saadian army which defeated the Songhai in 1591. In the late 19th century, during the Scramble for Africa, France seized control of Mali, making it a part of French Sudan; as the Sudanese Republic, a brief federation with Senegal was formed, achieving independence in 1960. After Senegal's withdrawal, the Republic of Mali was established. After a long period of one-party rule, a coup in 1991 led to a new constitution and the establishment of Mali as a democratic, multi-party state.

In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of a territory in the north, and in April declared the secession of a new state, Azawad. The conflict was complicated by a military coup in March 2012 and later fighting between Tuareg and other rebel factions. In response to territorial gains, the French military launched Operation Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north, although the conflict continued. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second-round run-off held on 11 August, and legislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013. In the early 2020s, Mali experienced two military takeovers by Assimi Goïta.

The name Mali is taken from the name of the Mali Empire. It means 'the place where the king lives' and carries a connotation of strength. Fourteenth-century Maghrebi traveller Ibn Battuta reported that the capital of the empire was called Mali. One Mandinka tradition tells that the legendary first emperor Sundiata Keita changed himself into a hippopotamus upon his death in the Sankarani River and that it was possible to find villages in the area of this river called 'old Mali'. A study of Malian proverbs noted that in old Mali, there is a village called Malikoma, which means 'New Mali', and that Mali could have formerly been the name of a city.

Another theory suggests that Mali is a Fulani pronunciation of the name of the Mande peoples. It is suggested that a sound shift led to the change, whereby in Fulani the alveolar segment /nd/ shifts to /l/ and the terminal vowel denasalizes and raises, leading 'Manden' to shift to /mali/.

Malian Cuisine

Cuisine in Mali includes rice and millet as staples of Mali, a food culture heavily based on cereal grains.[1][2] Grains are generally prepared with sauces made from edible leaves, such as spinach, sweet potato or baobab, with tomato peanut sauce. The dishes may be accompanied by pieces of grilled meat (typically chicken, mutton, beef, or goat).

Malian cuisine varies regionally. Part of West African cuisine, other popular dishes in Mali include fufu, Dibi, Jollof rice, and maafe (peanut butter sauce).