Dibi (Senegalese Grilled Lamb)
Aperçu
Dibi is Senegalese grilled lamb, sold from street stalls and wood-fired grills and served in bite sized pieces on paper with a mustard and onion sauce. It is one of the country's defining street foods and it is eaten with the fingers. The same dish exists across the region under a different name. In Guinea and the Gambia it is called afra, and the format is the same: meat seasoned and grilled over wood, hacked into pieces, smothered in onions and served in a brown paper bag that catches the drippings. A French baguette turns it into a sandwich, which is how a great many people eat it. The sauce is the Senegalese signature and it is the same mustard-and-onion base that carries chicken yassa. Onion is cooked down slowly in oil with grainy French mustard until soft and lightly browned, then loosened with water to a spoonable consistency. It is tangy rather than hot, and it cuts the fat of the grilled lamb. Attiéké, fried plantain or chips go alongside, and while dibi is filed as an appetizer it is substantial enough to be a whole meal, which is how it is usually eaten.
Note de Patrimoine AFN
Dibi is a Senegalese grilled meat dish sold by street vendors, known as afra in Guinea and the Gambia. It is conventionally served with a mustard and onion sauce, the same base used in chicken yassa.
Ingrédients
Les mentions alimentaires sont fournies par les contributeurs à titre indicatif. Elles ne sont pas vérifiées par AFN et dépendent des produits que vous achetez. En cas d’allergie grave, vérifiez vous-même chaque ingrédient. Cuisine, allergies et votre propre jugement
Préparation
- 1
Preheat the grill to a high temperature.
- 2
Wash and chop the meat into pieces that will sit well on the grill.
- 3
Mix a tablespoon of oil with salt and pepper in a small container and brush it lightly over both sides of the meat. Set on a platter to marinate while you make the sauce.
- 4
Combine the chopped onion, the quarter cup of oil and the mustard in a small heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally so the heat spreads evenly.
- 5
Keep the heat low and cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and lightly browned, stirring frequently.
- 6
Thin the mixture to a sauce consistency with three tablespoons of water, adding more if needed. Turn off the heat, taste, and adjust the salt and pepper. Add the sugar if you want it.
- 7
Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.
- 8
Oil the grill grate and arrange the marinated meat on it.
- 9
Grill, turning the pieces with tongs, until cooked, about 6 to 8 minutes per side for medium.
- 10
Transfer to a platter and spread the onion mustard sauce over the top.
- 11
Serve with a French baguette if you like.
Notes de l’Africook
- Keep the sauce thick. It is meant to sit on the meat rather than run off it, and the source is specific about the consistency.
- Cook the onions slowly and let them brown lightly. Rushed, they stay sharp and the sauce tastes raw.
- Grainy French mustard rather than smooth. The texture is part of the sauce.
- A hot grill and a short cook. Lamb in bite sized pieces overcooks quickly and dries out.
- It works on the stove, in the oven or in a pressure cooker if you have no grill, though you lose the wood smoke that defines the street version.
- Serve it in paper if you want the real thing. Catching the drippings is part of how it is eaten.
Questions fréquentes
What is the difference between dibi and afra?
The name. Dibi is what it is called in Senegal; in Guinea and the Gambia the same dish is afra. Both are meat seasoned and grilled over wood, cut into pieces and served with onions and sauce. Regional differences are in the seasoning and the sauce rather than the technique.
Can I use a meat other than lamb?
Yes. Lamb is the main component and the traditional choice, but the recipe explicitly allows other meats and beef and goat are both used. Chicken works too and cooks faster. Whatever you use, cut it into bite sized pieces, which is how dibi is served rather than as whole portions.
What is the sauce and can I make it ahead?
It is onion cooked down slowly with grainy mustard and oil, then loosened with water. It is the same base that carries chicken yassa. It can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated; loosen it with a little water when reheating, as it thickens considerably when cold.
What is dibi served with?
Attiéké, fried plantain or chips are the usual accompaniments, and a French baguette turns it into a sandwich, which is very common. It is filed as an appetizer but is substantial enough to be a full meal, and in Senegal that is generally how it is eaten.
Avis
3 avis
Chale the mustard and heavy black pepper combination is proper oo. My friend from Dakar used to wrap the lamb in brown paper with extra chopped raw onions right after grilling to let it steam, so I did that after browning the meat on high heat. The sauce was a bit too tart at first so I added the half teaspoon sugar paa to balance it out.
Could not find lamb shoulder at HEB so I picked up goat meat from the halal butcher on Hillcroft instead. The mustard sauce cooked down so nicely with the 1/4 cup oil, e sweet sha! Tasted just like what we used to buy late at night. Next time I will double the black pepper because my husband wanted more heat.
Tossed this on the braai on Saturday alongside some boerewors. Used Maille grainy French mustard for the sauce and let the onions cook down slow for a good 12 minutes till sweet. Lamb got that proper charred edges texture. Lekker stuff, making it again just now for the family.