At the court of Zazzau, the meal is built around a firm cereal paste (tuwo of millet or sorghum) which is broken by hand and dipped into a thick soup (miya). Fermented millet drinks (fura) are added, and during audiences, the ritual offering of kola nuts. There is no starter, main course, or dessert: everything is shared from large communal bowls, from the humblest home to the royal throne.

These black cakes of African locust bean (Parkia biglobosa), long fermented, are the umami soul of Sahelian cuisine. They give soups a smoky, salty depth long before sea salt arrived via trans-Saharan caravans. They are the continuous bass note of the entire Zazzau table.