Fanta…Toh?!

    No, thanks.  I’ve just, just eaten. 
Toh.  Malian staple.  Made from millet smashed and susu’d (mortar and pestle’d) to fine powder at which point it is slowly added to a pot of boiling water and man handled (meaning entirely by women) until it is an incredibly thick paste.  The mixture is then scooped into large bowls to cool slightly (meaning not nearly enough unless your hands and tongue are calloused from working in the fields and heat exposure) for consumption.  The taste of the Toh is similar to corn meal: very bland and grainy.  By itself, not the worst thing in the world, but when paired with its two most likely companions, nearly inedible (in my humble opinion).
Sauce Option 1: Okra sauce.  If you have never straight cooked the veggie before you may not know that once cooked it adopts an incredibly slimy texture making it similar to that of snot – i.e. hard to swallow.  This is cooked with an assortment of ‘herbs and spices’ and ready for dunking.
Sauce Option 2: Jege sauce.  For those of you who know Bambara, you know this means an even worse option than the first if you know me well…fish.  And not just any fish.  Since I am in a small village without access to fresh fish, smoked and dried fish it is with an extreme odor and therefore flavor. The actual sauce is just tomato based with onions but the addition of the black fish makes it just as intolerable as option 1.
Either of the previously described sauces are then poured into a small bowl which is then pressed into the now playdoh-like larger bowl of Toh.  As seen here in a fellow PCV’s photo:

Once the dish is ready to be served, you wash your hands with soap, while Malians “wash” their hands with water (the usage of soap has negative connotations in Mali where people think it will make them loose their riches) and you dive in.  The actual consumption process is one that cannot be described.  It must be witnessed or demonstrated by a person who has seen it done.  Let’s just say you’ve never seen someone use their hand as a utensil to its full potential until you’ve seen a Malian do it. 
Malians eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner and, man, can they shovel it in.  I’ve never seen a person eat more of anything in one sitting than Malians can eat of this stuff.  I am sure you won’t be surprised after reading the title of this post, or just by knowing me generally, that I rarely partake in the eating of the Toh.  Once and a while I will eat with my hands for special events like Cinquantenaire or Tabaski, but most days I cook for myself and continue to use a fork and spoon.  I’ve come to the conclusion that Americans are just no good at eating with their hands.  Perhaps its the mom in the back of all of our heads yelling at us to be ‘proper’.  Maybe it’s just my unease with this extreme version of the dreaded ‘double dip’.  Or perhaps its just me being the picky American that I am.  One thing is for sure though, I won’t miss Malian Toh nor be cooking it for friends and family upon my return stateside.  So sleep soundly at home tonight knowing tomorrow you can just take a lil’ trip around the block to someplace like Slows BBQ as that is what I picture in my brain when biting the bullet the days I do eat Toh :P