From a world market perspective - where the global spotlight stays focused on a handful of species that still produce the majority of the food despite the fact that there is a total of 78,000 edible species available in the world (an untapped resource for the upcoming ‘world food crisis’) - it would not be strange to think that Niger is now facing a gloomy period of hunger where the population has “nothing to eat”.

But the fact is that Niger is full of food right now. The world market crops may be subject to financial speculation and the harvests of monetary crops may vary greatly from one year to another, but the one thing that Niger has to rely on - and has been relying on for years and years now - is Nature’s Pantry.

Eden Foundation 2008

Nature’s pantry in Niger is generous in its quantities and its timing and as I am discovering, it’s food is rich both in vitamins and in taste. The Eden farmers are right now busy collecting and preparing the fruits of Boscia senegalensis, also known in the region as ‘hanza’ and ‘dilo’. The fruits are collected even when they are unripe, and the seeds are cooked and consumed as a base food.

Boscia senegalensis is a typical representative of the Western notion of famine food, as it is socially downplayed by other tribes as well as by people in the cities. Most Eden farmers are of the Kanuri tribe, and their food culture varies from the Hausa’s. In Zinder, most people know that the “people in the bush” eat both Maerua crassifolia and Boscia senegelensis, but they do not possess the knowledge of how to prepare them. The farmers in Tanout however do.

Eden Foundation 2008

During the past week, I decided to prepare the Boscia senegalensis myself as I was curious of its taste and texture. I followed the advice given to me from the bush to prepared it in a similar to the Eden farmer’s in Tanout and to integrate it with my own cooking.

It was a fun challenge, and I was pretty excited, having never prepared the Boscia senegalensis on my own before. Here’s how it went:

Instead of soaking it for days in water like the villagers do (to bring out the bitter taste, that keeps the fruit from being eaten by domestic animals), we put it out in the solar oven for three days in a row, and got the following results:

The coolest Boscia pasta straight from Nature’s pantry! I was impressed. Nothing wrong with the taste either: it was just very calm and “staple-food like” if you know what I mean. If asked to describe rice or macaronis, I’m not sure I would be able to come up with anything better either!

In order to demystify the notion of famine food, I cooked a Tanout-inspired meal and invited a few Garvis over for a Friday meal. Boscia senegalensis served with a specially Tanout-inspired sauce (I’ll blog the recipe later).

It was a good meal - tasty and filling - and we had a very enjoyable Friday night! I am definitively cooking more Boscia senegalensis in the near future and I’m eager to see how it works as a bread. Will keep you updated on all my undertakings…