BMK: Africa passionately, tasty, culturally, madly!

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One, then two restaurant-grocery store-living spaces-refuges have been born since 2017 in Paris: BMK Paris Bamako with, at the beginning, the mother in the kitchen, the father in the dining room, and two brothers and days full of hours, then BMK follies. BMK, 3 letters that smell Africa in the plural, respect, trust, generous and loving cuisine, sharing with a big smile!

With Fatoumata, Sékou, Abdoulaye and Fousseyni Djikine, the family with BMK roots, lifelong friend Marie Liesse Cabaret, who knows how to ask the right questions, and Fatoumata Diarra Doucansi, pastry chef and creator of "Exotic Papilles".

BMK Paris-Bamako, 14 rue de la Fidélité, 75010 Paris – BMK Folie-Bamako, 40, rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, 75011 Paris.

BMK, the book is published by Hachette editions (2021).

In connection and to go further

- To know everything about groceries, books, their travels, their initiatives, their desires, and cooking kits to make a mafé. Instagram. BMK on the networks.

- BMK Horizon: the association

- and the tales of Africa, best menu in the world:

A bit of the Bamakool gang:

- Exotic taste buds

- Aissetou Mbaye

- Nathalie Brigau Ngoum

- Marie Kacouchia

- Clarence Kopogo.

The gang of cooks with Sada, Bakary Diaguily, Doli, Sory Fousseni, Aliou, Dolo, Ousmane Adama, Madigata Simaro, Diaguily Gaye.

The baobab flan recipe is a pocket recipe: a podcast of recipes of local African products simmered by chef Harouna Sow with the complicity of Clémence Denavit from RFI. Find it on your favorite listening platform and here.

MaféPeanut sauce

Dish / Comfort food / Gluten free

Mafé, or tiga dégué in Bambara (the most common dialect in Mali), is one of the best-known traditional dishes on the African continent. It is a sauce made from long-simmered peanut paste. In sub-Saharan Africa, Mafé is generally eaten at lunch because it is very nutritious. It is traditionally cooked without meat (#govegan) or with mutton, and served with broken white rice or semolina such as fonio. Mafé can also be cooked with beef, chicken or even fish. It is sometimes served with a few vegetables (carrots, cabbage, sweet potatoes, okra). Its cooking is long and delicate in order to reveal the good taste of simmered peanut. Mafé is a creamy sauce whose preparation is relatively simple, and the result will delight your guests every time! Sunday in Bamako on the plate…For 4 people Preparation: 30 min Cooking: 2 hours (which you can shorten if you are in a hurry, but the secret of this recipe lies in slow and gentle cooking).500 g of beef for sauce, Burgundy type½ yellow lemon1 bouquet garni (or a few bay leaves)200 g peanut paste (as pure as possible)4 carrots4 okra (optional)¼ white cabbage2 yellow onions3 garlic cloves4 fresh tomatoes50 g tomato puree1 West Indian or vegetarian pepper1 stock cube1 tbsp. tablespoons soumbala (nététou) or a mixture of spices that makes you happy Neutral vegetable oil Rice (or accompaniment to your taste)

Before you start • You will frequently find Mafé recipes with okra. Our Mum prepared Mafé for us alternately with or without. It's all a matter of taste! If you want to add some, just put them in the sauce at the same time as the other vegetables (carrots and cabbage). A third variant proposes to mix the okra before adding them. This will give the sauce more binding and add a hint of bitterness. • Regarding the spices, to find the true taste of Mali, the ideal is to use soumbala and djaba yrané (dried onions). Soumbala (also called nététou) is a powder of fermented néré seeds. As it is, it has a very strong odor which can put off. But once simmered, it will bring an explosion of flavors that make up the identity of a good Mafé! Moreover, the néré is known in Africa for its extraordinary nutritional and medicinal properties! • Here we offer you a recipe for Mafé with beef, which corresponds to what our Mum cooked for us with love in our childhood! Feel free to replace the beef with chicken or try a vegan version. You can simply eliminate the meat and add more vegetables to your preparation. Cook!1. Cut the meat into 3 to 4 cm pieces and arrange them in a large dish. Pour a few drops of lemon on it to soften it, salt and the bouquet garni then set aside.2. Dilute the peanut paste in 50 cl of lukewarm water. Cut the carrots into 3 to 4 pieces, and roughly chop the cabbage. Chop the onions. Chop the garlic finely. Peel the tomatoes and cut them into small cubes.3. Heat the oil in a heavy, flat-bottomed casserole dish. Place the meat on it and let it brown over high heat for 5 minutes while stirring. Then return to medium heat.4. Add the onions and the minced garlic and sauté them until they become nicely colored. It should take less than 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree and stir then simmer for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and stir. Then add the crumbled bouillon cube and the spices. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Mix regularly so that the preparation does not stick to the bottom of the casserole and that it remains homogeneous.5. Reduce the heat, then pour the peanut paste and mix gently together. Add 1 liter of water, cabbage, carrots. Salt, pepper. Add the chilli without cutting or piercing it, it will float on the sauce. Add the bouquet garni.6. Let the mixture simmer uncovered and over low heat for 1 hour, stirring regularly every 10 minutes or so), scraping the bottom of the casserole with the spatula.7. Finally, taste and check the consistency. The cooking time depends on the consistency you want. At this point, do not hesitate to add another 20 minutes of uncovered cooking (always stirring regularly) for a smoother sauce! This is what we recommend for a yummy traditional version that is faithful to our Mom's recipe!8. Taste (only a small spoonful, leave some for your guests!) and add a little salt if needed. Serve hot, accompanied by rice, attiéké, fonio… Whatever makes you happy in fact!

Musical programming

- Zange by Bongeziwe Mablanda

- Anka Maliba by Djeneba Seck

- Celebration of Kool and the Gang, in credits.

RECIPE

Cashew plantain velouté

Recipe from the book “BMK, African cuisine from Paris to Bamako”, by Fousseyni, Abdoulaye Djikine, and Marie Liesse Cabaret, published by Hachette editions.

For 4 to 6 people, preparation of cashew nuts: 1 night Preparation 20 minutes. Cooking 30 mins 1 yellow onion, 3 cloves of garlic, 4 ripe plantain bananas, 1 sweet potato, 40g of cashew nuts, 50 cl of liquid cream, 180g of coconut milk, neutral vegetable oil, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper.

The day before: soak the cashew nuts in lukewarm water to soften them. The recipe: 1: Peel and slice the onion. Crush the garlic cloves. Peel and cut the plantain bananas into small slices. Peel and cut the sweet potato into small cubes.2: Heat a little oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onion and garlic over low heat, until the onions become translucent.3: Add the bananas, sweet potato, cashew nuts, cream and coconut milk. Crumble the stock cube, salt and pepper.4: Cook over medium heat, covered, for 30 minutes.5: Mix everything using a plunger. And serve hot.

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