Mauritania | Dessert

Lakh

Name: Lakh
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mauritania, West Africa
Ingredients: 2 cups millet couscous or arraw; 2 cups water, for steaming; ¼ tsp salt; 2 cups fermented milk, lait caille, or plain yogurt; ⅓ cup sugar, to taste; ¼ cup grated coconut; 1 tsp vanilla extract; ¼ tsp ground nutmeg; 1 tbsp baobab powder

Mauritanian-style lakh, soft millet couscous served with sweet fermented milk, yogurt, coconut, and warm spice.

Country

Mauritania

Region

West Africa

Time

40 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Mauritania 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

Dessert

Millet

2 cups millet couscous or arraw 2 cups water, for steaming ¼ tsp salt

Milk sauce

2 cups fermented milk, lait caille, or plain yogurt ⅓ cup sugar, to taste ¼ cup grated coconut (optional) 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) ¼ tsp ground nutmeg (optional) 1 tbsp baobab powder (optional)

A few kitchen essentials

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

Lidded pot

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Mauritania

4 steps 15 min prep 25 min cook (check method) 40 min total easy

Steam millet

Steam the millet couscous over simmering water until the grains are tender and fluffy.

Steam millet 20:00

Cool and fluff

Spread the millet in a shallow bowl, sprinkle with salt, and fluff gently so it cools without clumping.

Cool millet 05:00

Sweeten milk

Whisk fermented milk or yogurt with sugar, coconut, vanilla, nutmeg, and baobab powder if using.

Serve

Spoon the cool millet into bowls and pour the sweet milk sauce over the top just before eating.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

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 Breakfast and dessert. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 40 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Mint tea, dates, roasted peanuts, or fresh fruit

Follow the collection

Vegetarian Africa is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

Mauritania national table. A structured Mauritania 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.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

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

Lakh recipe from Mauritania — Lakh finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Lakh

Mint tea, dates, roasted peanuts, or fresh fruit

Best route from here

Mauritania national table

Collections to keep cooking

Explore Mauritania recipes

Explore more recipes