Taguella facts for kids

A flat taguella being cooked in the remains of a desert fire

An Algerian man of Kel Ahaggar heritage cooks Taguella in hot ashes

Taguella is a special kind of flat bread. It is a very important food for the Tuareg people, who live in the Sahara Desert. This bread is shaped like a disk and is made from wheat flour. What makes it unique is how it's cooked: it's buried under hot sand and charcoal from a small fire. Once cooked, people break the bread into small pieces and often eat it with a tasty meat sauce.

What is Taguella?

Taguella is a thick, flat bread that doesn't use yeast to rise (it's unleavened). It's usually made from semolina, wheat, or millet flour. Sometimes, different flours are mixed together.

How Taguella is Made

First, the dough is kneaded for about twenty minutes until it's smooth. Then, it's baked right in the hot embers (glowing coals) and ash of a fire, buried in the sand.

How Taguella is Eaten

Tuareg people often eat Taguella with their right hand. It can be served as a meal by itself or with sheep meat. People also enjoy it with milk from goats, camels, or sheep. Tea is also a common drink to have with Taguella.

The bread is usually served with a sauce. This sauce can be made from tomatoes and other vegetables, different kinds of meat, or chili. Sometimes, wild fennel is added to give it a special flavor.

Cooking Taguella in the Desert

Making Taguella is a traditional process. Here's a simple way to understand how it's done:

• First, flour and water are mixed in a bowl to make a thick liquid dough.
• A fire is made on a clean, sandy spot.
• Once the fire has no flames and only hot embers are left, some embers are moved aside. This reveals hot sand or ash.
• A round hollow is made in this hot sand, about 4 to 5 cm deep.
• The dough mixture is poured into this hollow.
• To help the top dry a little, a small flame might be passed quickly over it.
• Then, the bread is covered with ash, and hot embers are placed on top of the ash.
• When the top part of the bread is cooked enough, the embers and ash are removed.
• The bread is flipped over, covered with ash and embers again, so the other side can cook.
• Once both sides are cooked, the bread is taken out, cleaned, and it's ready to eat!

See also

In Spanish: Taguella para niños