Name: Kisra with Mullah Tagalia
Prep time: 750 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 805 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Sudan, North Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups sorghum flour; 2½ cups warm water, plus more to thin; ¼ tsp yeast or sour starter; 500 g minced beef or dried beef, shredded if dried; 4 large onions, thinly sliced; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp red pepper or paprika; 3 cups water or stock; salt and black pepper, to taste

Kisra with Mullah Tagalia

Sudanese kisra with mullah tagalia, fermented sorghum crepes served with thick onion, tomato, meat, coriander, and red pepper sauce.

Country

Sudan

Region

North Africa

Time

805 min

Serves

Level

medium

What to know before you cook

Good kisra brings the tang, and tagalia brings the depth. Cook the onions long enough for the sauce to turn dark and glossy.

What the dish tastes like

Sudanese kisra with mullah tagalia, fermented sorghum crepes served with thick onion, tomato, meat, coriander, and red pepper sauce.

When to cook it

Best for Daily family lunch or dinner, with a medium cooking level and about 805 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Salad, lime, extra chile, or asida

Regional lane

Sudan national table. A verified Sudan dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Rushing the rest or fermentation period.
Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
Adding all seasoning early and forgetting to adjust at the end.

How you know it is ready

The bread or batter should smell pleasantly fermented, toasted, or nutty rather than floury.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Oil, sauce, broth, or steam should look settled and deliberate.

Prepare kisra batter

Mix sorghum flour with warm water and a pinch of yeast to form a thin, pourable batter (thinner than crepe batter). Cover and let ferment at room temperature for 12-24 hours until slightly sour.

Traditional fermentation uses no yeast — just time. The natural bacteria create the sour tang.

Cook the kisra

Heat a large flat pan or griddle (doka). Pour a thin layer of batter and quickly spread it in a circular motion using a palette or the back of a spoon. Cook until set and edges lift, about 1 minute. Do not flip — kisra is cooked on one side only.

Sudanese women are expert at spreading kisra paper-thin with a special gourd tool called a mafrash.

Build the mullah

Heat oil in a deep pot. Fry the onions over medium heat, stirring often, until deeply caramelised and dark brown, about 20 minutes. Add the dried meat, tomatoes, coriander, and 2 cups of water. Simmer for 20 minutes.

The dark onions are the soul of tagalia — don't rush this step.

Caramelise onions 20:00

Add peanut butter

Stir in the peanut butter until fully dissolved. Simmer for another 10 minutes until the stew is thick and rich. Season with salt.

The peanut butter thickens the stew and adds a nutty depth.

Finish stew 10:00

Serve

Lay kisra on a large platter or individual plates. Ladle the mullah over the top. Eat by tearing pieces of kisra and scooping the stew.

In Sudanese tradition, everyone eats from one large shared platter.

Kisra with Mullah Tagalia

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Kisra with Mullah Tagalia

Step-by-step method

Kisra with Mullah Tagalia

What to know before you cook

See the dish before you cook

Build the table around Kisra with Mullah Tagalia

Step-by-step method

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