Mali | Soup

Fakoye

Name: Fakoye
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mali, West Africa
Ingredients: 3 cups fakoye, jute, or molokhia leaves, chopped or powdered; 250 g dried fish, soaked and flaked; 2 tbsp soumbala or dawadawa, crumbled; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 tbsp palm oil or shea butter; 200 g okra, sliced; 1 whole hot pepper, left whole or minced; 4 cups water or light stock; salt, to taste

Northern Malian fakoye leaf sauce with jute or molokhia leaves, dried fish, soumbala, onion, chile, and optional okra.

Country

Mali

Region

West Africa

Time

55 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Mali recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Soup

Leaf Sauce

3 cups fakoye, jute, or molokhia leaves, chopped or powdered

Protein

250 g dried fish, soaked and flaked [Sub: cooked beef or lamb]

Sauce

2 tbsp soumbala or dawadawa, crumbled 1 large onion, chopped 2 tbsp palm oil or shea butter

Texture

200 g okra, sliced (optional)

Heat

1 whole hot pepper, left whole or minced

Liquid

4 cups water or light stock

Pantry

salt, to taste

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Mali

4 steps 15 min prep 40 min cook (check method) 55 min total easy

Start base

Heat palm oil or shea butter and cook onion until soft. Stir in soumbala.

Cook base 05:00

Add liquid and protein

Add water or stock, dried fish, and hot pepper. Simmer to season the broth.

Simmer broth 15:00

Add leaves

Stir in fakoye leaves or powder. Cook until the sauce darkens and becomes silky.

Cook leaves 15:00

Finish texture

Add okra if using and simmer until the sauce is lightly thickened. Adjust salt.

Finish 10:00

Some versions use more okra for a thicker draw, while others add extra dried fish or chilli depending on the household.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Everyday meals. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 55 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Toh, rice, millet paste, or steamed fonio

Regional lane

Mali national table. A structured Mali dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.
Thinning the pot before the body of the soup or stew has developed.
Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.

How you know it is ready

The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Fakoye recipe from Mali — Fakoye finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Fakoye

Toh, rice, millet paste, or steamed fonio

Best route from here

Mali national table

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