La Taguella

Terres Touareg

Taguella, the emblematic bread of the Tuareg people

Taguella is the traditional and emblematic dish of the Tuareg, the nomadic people of the Algerian Sahara. This bread is not only a staple food, but also
an important part of their culinary culture. Served in a single large dish, it is usually accompanied by goat’s or camel’s milk, typical products of the Tuareg tribe.

Origin and meaning of taguella

In the Berber language of the Tuareg, the word taguella means ‘cereal-based food’ or ‘wafer’. This bread, at the heart of nomadic meals, is a practical food to prepare in the desert, with minimal material requirements: sand and fire. This is why it is often nicknamed ‘sand bread’. Taguella is cooked slowly under ashes and embers, allowing nomads to enjoy a convivial moment around the fire while sipping a traditional tea.

Preparing taguella: the nomadic bread of the Tuaregs

Taguella is a thick wafer made from wheat semolina, kneaded for a long time before being baked under hot sand. Here’s how the Tuareg people make it in the Algerian Sahara:

The dough: Taguella is made with one kilo of wheat semolina, sometimes mixed with a little flour. A litre of water and a pinch of salt are gradually added. The dough is then kneaded for around 20 minutes, until it becomes soft and elastic.
The fire and the natural oven: While the dough is resting, a fire is lit on a bed of clean sand. Once the flames are extinguished, only the embers remain. The embers are then removed and a natural oven is dug into the sand, about 4 to 5 centimetres deep, enough to contain the galette.
Cooking: Before the cake is placed in the oven, a piece of burning wood is passed over the surface to dry it and prevent the sand from sticking. The taguella is then buried under hot sand, ashes and small embers. It cooks for 20 minutes before being turned over to cook both sides evenly.
Rinsing and cutting: Once cooked, the taguella is removed from the sand, rinsed with water to remove any ash residue and cut into small pieces, ready to be eaten.

Tasting taguella

Once the taguella has been cut, it is often accompanied by a sauce, called adreze n’taguela, made from tomatoes, onions, spices and sometimes meat. This traditional bread is also served with goat’s or camel’s milk, two key products of the nomadic lifestyle of the Tuaregs of the Sahara.

Taguella, the emblematic bread of the Tuareg people, is a powerful symbol of how these nomadic people have adapted to the conditions of the Algerian Sahara. Practical, simple to prepare and rich in flavour, this dish recounts the history and culinary traditions of the Tuareg people, while perpetuating ancestral practices at the heart of daily life in the Sahara.

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