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1
Boil Potash, Locust Beans and Stockfish
5 Mins
Rolling boil, ~100°C (212°F)
Pour 750ml of water into a pot and bring it to a rolling boil. Stir in the dissolved potash and the rinsed locust beans, then add the soaked stockfish. Boil for 5 minutes so the beans release their flavour.
Dissolving the potash first and straining it keeps grit out of the soup.
Done when: The water is boiling hard and smells savoury from the locust beans.
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2
Add the Leaves
10 Mins
Boil, ~100°C (212°F)
Add the washed jute leaves and the chilli to the boiling pot. Do NOT cover the pot — covering kills the slippery draw. Cook for 7–10 minutes until the leaves are completely soft and dark green.
Never cover the pot while the leaves cook — the soup will not turn silky if you do.
Done when: Leaves are soft, dark green and collapsing into the water.
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3
Mash the Soup Silky
5 Mins
Mashing, ~80°C (176°F)
Lift the pot off the heat and mash the leaves with a small traditional broom (ijabe), a whisk, or a potato masher, working steadily for about 5 minutes until the soup is smooth and silky. A blender works too — pulse twice only, or the soup turns gluey.
Mash patiently and in the pot — over-blending makes the soup gluey instead of silky.
Done when: The soup is uniformly smooth, bright green and slippery on the spoon.
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4
Season the Soup
5 Mins
Gentle simmer, ~95°C (203°F)
Return the pot to low heat. Stir in the onion, ground crayfish and palm oil, and simmer gently for 3–5 minutes. Taste, then add the salt a little at a time — the locust beans and crayfish already carry salt.
Salt last: the soup concentrates as it simmers and the dried fish is already salty.
Done when: The soup is hot, seasoned and glossy with a thin sheen of oil.
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5
Make the Millet Tô
12 Mins
Low heat, ~95°C (203°F)
While the soup simmers, make the tô: bring 750ml of water to a boil in a second pot, then sprinkle in the millet flour a little at a time, stirring hard with a wooden spoon. Keep stirring over low heat for 10–12 minutes until the tô is stiff, smooth and pulls away from the sides of the pot.
Add the flour slowly and stir without stopping — lumps form the moment you pause.
Done when: The tô is stiff, smooth and holds its shape when scooped.
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6
Serve with Tô
3 Mins
Serve hot, ~70°C (158°F)
Wet your hands, mould the tô into four smooth balls and set one on each plate. Ladle the hot lalo soup beside it, not over it, and serve immediately with tomato stew if you have it.
Serve the soup beside the tô, not over it — everyone likes a different amount of soup per bite.
Done when: The plate is steaming, the soup bright green beside the pale tô.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Let the soup sit off the heat for 2 minutes before serving — the draw settles and the green colour stays bright. Taste once more for salt; the locust beans and crayfish already carry salt, so add it last.
Mali
1h 5m
France
Vietnam