The first time I saw Thiakry (pronounced cha-kry) at a Senegalese restaurant, I won’t lie, I kind of gave it a side eye. It looked like a boring porridge that was another version of tapioca, and I was guessed that I would not like it… was I extra wrong. My friend who grew up eating Senegalese food was there with me, and ignored my skepticism and ordered the Thiakry anyway. Thank God for food envy, my longathroat (Nigerian slang for envy) led me to try her Thiakry, and I was sold since then.
Traditional Thiakry is made with a millet couscous, and nothing compares to the traditional version. I did not have access to Thiakry couscous, so I decided to try it out with real millet grains, and I must say, it came very close to being as perfect as the traditional version. I am currently in the process of learning how to make actual Thiakry couscous, so there might be an update to this recipe in the future, but for now this just as good.
Thiakry is a sweet, creamy and mildly tangy dessert that is mostly native to Senegal and Gambia. I could tell you that it is an elevated tapioca pudding, but I would not be doing this dish much justice; it is significantly better. It can be topped with mangoes, raisins, coconuts or chopped nuts.
Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Thiakry
Ingredients
- 1 cup millet
- 2 cups water to boil the millet
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 14 oz about 1 cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 cup yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- Chopped pistachios optional
Instructions
- Rinse and boil the millet in two cups of water and 1/4 tsp salt for 30 minutes on low to medium heat.
- Allow the millet to cool completely in a flat tray/plate to keep it from clumping.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sweetened condensed milk, yogurt, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Whisk in the millet and allow to cool in the refrigerator for at least on hour and then serve topped with chopped pistachios.
14 Comments
cakespy
May 1, 2017 at 9:00 amI’m fascinated by this sweet dessert!! I love reading about treats from around the world so you’ve given me something to dream about!
Ms. Yum
May 1, 2017 at 9:55 amI’m glad to hear that Cakespy! Maybe you can move from dreaming to tasting if you try the recipe, trust me, its worth the try!
zoho
June 3, 2022 at 6:47 amOne of the most delicious sweet dishes I ever tasted. The UN is going to make 2023 the year of Millet. Let us hope the message gets to a wider audience, and thanks to your help for sharing this yummy recipe. X
Yoselin Diaz
April 19, 2018 at 11:49 amWhat kind of yogurt??
Lois
April 20, 2018 at 8:50 amPlain yogurt is best. I don’t use Greek yogurt or any other style of stained yogurt, but you could try that as well.
Taylor
December 3, 2018 at 5:08 amI work at Planet Fittness overnight and one of the regular members came in and had ordered too much food at an african restaurant before he came in and offered me some of his to go thiakry. oh….my….goodness!!!!!!!!! I am a huge fan of african food period and when he offered it to me i jumped right on it. and it is soooooooooo delicious!!!!!!! Ive never had any yogurt that tasted remotely as good. Oh me oh my!!!!!!!!!!!!! My mouth waters as I eat it, its so good. Its a must try ifyoure a fan of yogurt. You wont want regular yogur again. and if you arent a fan of yogurt, this will CERTAINLY change that mind!!!!!
Lois
January 8, 2019 at 9:16 amI am glad to hear this Taylor! I share the same sentiments with you regarding Thiakry, it is love at first bite!
Abigail
March 26, 2019 at 11:55 amYou are a life saver. I do wanted to make this and didn’t know how to get beyond the couscous part. Thanks for sharing.
Lois
April 4, 2019 at 8:49 amYou are very welcome Abigail!
Cameron Smith
April 15, 2019 at 10:49 pmHi, i’m an eighth grader taking french. I used this for the Senegali cultural project and it was FANTASTIC! Thank you so much for this recipe. It was so easy and could be refrigerated, not to mention delicious. My class and teacher loved it as well. I think I will use this website for recipes from now on.
Lois
April 19, 2019 at 9:02 amThat is so nice to hear Cameron. I am happy that the it worked out and your class loved the dish. Happy cooking!
Sinneth
July 31, 2019 at 12:54 pmI love Chakery. I learned about this delicious dessert from my ex who is Mauritanian but grew up in Senegal. I love all the West African dishes I’ve tried. Chakery is one of my favorites. I came across your blog because I was googling the recipe. I actually just ate some Chakery….yum yum. Last night I went out to eat at a West African restaurant ion NYC called Afrikine. Love their food. I will definitely be trying your recipe.
Grace
November 6, 2021 at 1:54 pmIt is commonly eaten in Northern Nigeria too! Called fura da nono.
Amanda Kamara
April 4, 2023 at 5:18 pmSome time last year I went to an event and someone made this dessert I went crazy. The last time I had thiakry I was a kid. I never knew the name of it so I researched it and I came across this recipe. I used Israeli couscous in one bowl and tapioca in another. OMG!! Both were absolutely delicious but I was more partial to the tapioca. I will be making thiakry for Ramadan and give it to my family and friends that are fasting. Alhamdulillah. Thank you very much for the recipe ☺️☺️☺️😋😋😋