Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth)
Coarse hand-rolled millet couscous stirred into a paprika-stained chicken and bean broth until the grain drinks it up and thickens to a savoury porridge.
Mauritanian · medium · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 75 min
~1042 cal · 90g protein · 111g carbs · 24g fat · 13g fiber · 8g sugars · 6g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Aïch, also spelled aych or al-aïch, is one of the oldest everyday grains of Mauritania and the wider Sahel, coarse rolled by hand from or maize flour into pellets far larger than the fine of the Maghreb. The name is often read as life, a fitting word for a grain that has sustained nomadic and riverine families along the desert edge for generations.
Unlike a piled dry beside its sauce, aïch is finished in the pot. A chicken and bean stew is built with onion, tomato and plenty of paprika, sometimes deepened with a little dried fish, and the steamed grain is then stirred into the broth until it swells, drinks the liquid and thickens to a hearty porridge. Chickpeas or black-eyed peas give it body while the paprika lends its warm russet colour.
It is communal, sustaining food, ladled into a shared bowl with the chicken arranged on top, eaten by hand or spoon and often rounded off with the ritual three glasses of sweet Mauritanian mint tea.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- 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
500 g coarse (aïch)
Hard to find? coarse maize couscous or fonio - the authentic grain is hand-rolled millet or maize; fonio steams to a similar coarse, nutty texture
1 (about 1.5 kg) whole chicken, cut in pieces
1 small piece dried fish, boned and flaked, optional, for savoury depth
400 g dried chickpeas or black-eyed peas, soaked overnight
2 onions, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
3 tbsp
to taste salt and black pepper
Instructions
1
Drain the soaked chickpeas or black-eyed peas, cover with fresh water and boil until just tender, then set aside in their cooking liquid.
✎ Chef’s note
Older dried beans can take well over an hour, so start them first and judge by taste rather than the clock.
2
Brown the chicken pieces (or the mushrooms) in the oil in a large pot, then lift them out and soften the onions in the same pot until golden.
3
Stir in the tomatoes, paprika, ground coriander, salt and pepper and cook a few minutes, then return the chicken with the beans, the flaked dried fish and enough water to cover.
4
Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for about 40 minutes until the chicken is tender and the broth is deep and russet.
5
Meanwhile steam the coarse millet couscous over water until the grains are tender and separate, fluffing them with a fork so they do not clump.
✎ Chef’s note
Steam the aïch in two or three goes, fluffing between each, so the coarse grains cook through evenly.
6
Lift out the chicken, stir the steamed grain into the simmering broth and let it swell and thicken to a porridge, then ladle into a shared bowl and arrange the chicken on top.
Mauritanian Sahelian home cooking, Nouakchott.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Nouakchott. Nouakchott is a desert-edge capital where mechoui, whole lamb roasted slowly, marks celebrations. Mauritanian cooking joins Saharan and West African habits in thieboudienne-style fish and rice, camel meat and milk, and sweet mint tea.
🗺️
Mauritania. Mauritanian cuisine reflects Saharan nomad life, spiced rice with fish or meat (thieboudienne-style), grilled lamb, dates, and camel's milk. Couscous and sweet mint tea anchor a desert table of hospitality.
🌍
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 Mauritania
MéchouiWhole lamb (or a shoulder) slow-roasted with cumin and salt until falling off the bone, desert feast food.
LakhSteamed millet couscous under cool sweetened curdled milk and fresh grated coconut, the Sahelian sweet Mauritania makes to mark the end of Ramadan.
Maru wa LahméMeat and vegetables simmered in a mustard-scented broth, then rice cooked in that broth, the generous communal lunch of the Mauritanian table.
Browse all Mauritania recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Steamer.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Mauritania meal
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Dates Stuffed with ButterDessert
Leksour (Lamb Stew on Pancakes)Lunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth)?
Coarse hand-rolled millet couscous stirred into a paprika-stained chicken and bean broth until the grain drinks it up and thickens to a savoury porridge.
Where does Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) come from?
Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) is a Mauritanian dish from Nouakchott, Mauritania.
Can Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) 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 Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) 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 Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) take to make?
About 95 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 75 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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