Galettes de Mil

Easy·25 min active + 35 min resting

Sahelian-Burkinabé millet pancakes — millet flour mixed with water, sometimes baobab or peanut, and pan-fried into small thick pancakes. Eaten as breakfast or snack, sweetened with sugar or honey.

Egg

Galettes de mil are millet pancakes eaten across the Sahel from Senegal to Niger, ground from the grain that thrives where wheat will not. In Burkina Faso they are a traditional breakfast, eaten with sauce or sugar.

Galettes de mil — golden-brown thick pancake, slightly nutty from millet, gently sweet. With honey and a glass of bissap, this is the Sahelian breakfast.

Mixing millet with wheat flour gives binding while preserving millet's distinctive flavor. Resting the batter improves texture.

Variations

With baobab. With peanut. Savory versions without sugar.

On the Palate

Where Galettes de Mil sits in the Burkinabé flavor cloud

Ingredients

Serves 6

How it's made

7 steps · 25 min active + 35 min waiting

1
3 min
Mix 300 g millet flour + 100 g all-purpose flour + 60 g sugar + 1/2 tsp salt + 1 tsp baking powder.
2
2 min
Add 400 ml warm water + 2 tbsp melted butter + 1 egg.
3
32 min
Whisk smooth. Rest 30 min.
Watch out
Let the batter rest a full half hour — poured straight away the millet grits stay gritty and the cakes tear.
4
3 min
Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Brush with oil.
5
5 min
Pour 1/4 cup batter per pancake; cook 2-3 min per side until golden.
Watch out
Wait for small holes to open on top before you flip — that's when the underside is golden and set.
6
2 min
Stack and keep warm.
7
3 min
Serve with: honey, sugar, fresh fruit, or peanut butter. The Burkinabé breakfast.