As with many cultural topics in Mauritania, the type of food one eats largely depends on location and ethnic group. Typically in the north we see less variety of foods and more bland foods than in the south. More specifically speaking, the northern diet consists largely of meat, rice, and couscous. In the south you’ll see an abundance of fish, vegetables, and some fruits, especially the closer to Senegal you get. From what I can gather, there are two main reasons for this trend. Culturally speaking, the Arab Moors (mostly in the north) were nomadic peoples who never stayed long in one spot. This means that in their diet you’re not going to see much in the way of vegetables and fruits because that requires one to stay in one place to tend the fields. Another reason is the geography of the country, and the natural allocation of water resources. As discussed previously, the majority of the water, and rain will be found in the south along the Senegal River, which creates a better environment for gardening. This is not to say that there are not gardens in the north – one town in the north is specifically known for its carrots.

No matter where you are in the country, the variety of dishes is quite limited. Typically a family will eat the same meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday. Usually in the morning people will eat bread with their tea, or have a porridge type meal similar to grits. For lunch in the south the favorite is a Senegalese dish “Chub u gin” aka rice and fish. In the south, the fish and rice is accompanied with a number of vegetables such as eggplant, carrots, peppers, potatoes, and/or a green leaf called bissap. When fish is in short supply, people will generally substitute the fish with goat or sheep meat. For dinner many times one will eat couscous along with goat or sheep meat, or just plain couscous. For special occasions at dinnertime you’ll have a plate of couscous with a goat’s head on top. There are many other plates commonly found here such as Mafé (a peanut butter-tomato sauce served over rice – my favorite), Yassa (an onion sauce over rice), and spaghetti and meat.

Another unifying matter regarding food and diet is the way the food is prepared, how it is eaten, and when. First, Mauritanians use a ton of vegetable oil in their food preparation. It increases the calories in the meal, but more importantly it allows you to ball the food up in your hand. That’s right… no forks, spoons, or knifes… you just eat with your hand. The meal will be served in a large single bowl or plate on the floor, and all of the family and/or guests will gather around. If there are a lot of people, there may be two or three dishes. Each person can eat the food that is in the “imaginary pie slice” that is directly in front of you by balling it and eating with your right hand. Sorry lefties… you still have to eat with your right hand! There are “table” manners of course for eating that must be followed. Most importantly one never ever reaches into a common bowl with their left hand! If you have an issue with your right hand, you’ll be issued a spoon. Next, you can never reach outside of your “pie piece area”. Even if your favorite vegetable is in the next pie piece over, you should ask to have someone throw it into your pie piece. The host will typically tear off choice parts of the meat for the guests and visitors. The meat is usually placed in the center, and you may need to ask someone for some help when tearing off a piece. Usually breakfast is served around 7 or 8am (this depends on the family). Lunchtime is between 2-3pm, and dinner is anywhere from 8-10pm. Remember that one always serves tea with every meal.



This is a dish from a little restaurant in Nouakchott. It looks to me like it’s Yassa (the onion-sauce over rice). Usually in restaurants foreigners will be given spoons like you see in the upper right hand corner.



You don’t see a meal like this too often… this was a special treat at for our swear-in ceremony because the ambassador was there. What makes it so special is all of the vegetables and the whole chicken. I don’t think I’ve seen so many vegetables all on the same plate since that day.



Here it is… the famous “chub u gin”! This is of the white variety (meaning there’s no tomato past in the sauce for the rice to make it red). My family in Rosso ate this every day without fail (except when they ran out of fish at the market).



Here is a very popular dish called Mishwii. The city of Aleg is famous here in country for having the best around! It’s grilled sheep, goat, or camel served with some bread, and maybe some onions for good measure. Typically you’ll also have the intestines, liver, etc. also served in this dish.