Recipe
🍰 DESSERT
Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers)
Crisp fried fingers of sweetened millet and wheat, a teatime sweet from the Ouaddaï region of Chad.
Chadian · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 15 min
~529 cal · 9g protein · 74g carbs · 22g fat · 5g fiber · 17g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Le Ouaddaï takes its name from the eastern Chadian region where these crisp little sweets are made, and they have become a teatime treat across the country. A dough of freshly milled flour and a little wheat flour is enriched with oil and egg, sweetened, rolled thin and cut into short ribbons, then fried until golden.
is the backbone of Chadian eating, turned into porridge, pancakes and flatbreads across the Sahel, and these fingers are its sweet expression, closer to a North African tea biscuit than a soft cake. Often quite dry and rich, they are exactly the kind of thing to dunk in sweet tea on a hot afternoon.
Simple and forgiving, they take well to a little vanilla or a grating of citrus zest, and they keep for days in a tin. Dusted with sugar and served with tea, le Ouaddaï is the after-school and after-dinner sweet of Chadian homes.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and dairy-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 cups flour
1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the pan oil, for frying
Instructions
1
Mix the millet and wheat flours, then rub in the half cup of oil until sandy, and work in the sugar, egg and vanilla to a firm dough, adding a little water only if needed.
2
Knead the dough briefly, then roll it out about a quarter inch thick on a floured surface and cut into short ribbons a couple of inches long.
3
Heat a shallow pool of oil to a gentle 320F (160C) and fry the ribbons in batches, turning, until golden brown.
✎ Chef’s note
Keep the oil moderate and fry slowly. Too hot and the fingers colour before the millet inside cooks through and turns crisp.
4
Drain on paper, dust with extra sugar, and serve with tea. They keep for several days in an airtight tin.
Ouaddaï region tradition, Chad.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
N'Djamena. N'Djamena eats boule, millet or sorghum rolled into balls, dipped into daraba, a slippery okra and tomato sauce enriched with peanut. Chadian cooking is Sahelian and thrifty, with dried fish, dried okra, and slow-simmered meat.
🗺️
Chad. La bouillie is the sweet counterpart, a thin millet porridge taken at breakfast, sometimes with milk or tamarind. The country runs from Saharan desert in the north through savanna to the wetter south, and the cooking follows that line, dates and dried meat at the top, millet and okra in the middle, fish from Lake Chad and the rivers below.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Chad
DarabaA silky Chadian okra-and-greens stew enriched with peanut butter and tomato, eaten with millet.
KisserChadian sourdough crepes: thin, tangy fermented millet pancakes griddled soft and lacy, torn and dipped into sauce or eaten with sugar.
NashifGround beef sautéed with tomato, onion, and warm spices into a quick, savory dish eaten with bread or rice in N'Djamena.
Browse all Chad recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Mould or tin.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Chad meal
DarabaDinner
Bili-BiliDrink
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers)?
Crisp fried fingers of sweetened millet and wheat, a teatime sweet from the Ouaddaï region of Chad.
Where does Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) come from?
Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) is a Chadian dish from N'Djamena, Chad.
Can Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers) take to make?
About 35 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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