Teranga is the Senegalese word for hospitality. It travels and exists in practice just as well in Harlem as it does in Dakar or Saint-Louis.
It was on full display in June on 116th Street, between Malcolm X Boulevard and Frederick Douglass Boulevard, a stretch known as Le Petit Senegal. Soccer fans from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut flocked to Senegalese restaurants and businesses like the Senegalese Association of America to watch as the team from Senegal faced off against France in a Group A World Cup match. It was the first time the teams have met since 2002.
Thieboudienne, the national dish, is an ever-present sight at lunch time across this part of Harlem and a classic example is made at Chez Jacob. Broken rice is cooked slowly into the juices of red snapper, or sometimes barracuda, stuffed with spice and accompanied by a cascade of spices and flavors.
Guedji and yett, fermented fish and snail, are the king and queen of those flavors. “Not everybody knows,” said Fatou Niang, the manager of Adja Khady Market. “I see on YouTube other countries, I don’t want to name, cooking jollof rice and I just laugh because they don’t have this” as she holds up a freshly opened bag of guedji.
Peanut butter from Senegal is used almost as a savory paste in maafe. It adds a deep flavor and subtle texture to this rich lamb stew.
On game days and weekdays dishes like maafe and thieboudienne are served on a large plate, without utensils. The servings are hefty enough to allow for sharing.
Ataya, the traditional Senegalese tea custom, was also a popular way to take in the game. The ritual consists of three small cups that can be spread out from anywhere to an hour or five, depending on the quality of conversation, of course.
