# What's "moulou" (West African cuisine)?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 22, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385 "2017-11-22T08:52:31Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 7\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/1 "2017-11-22T08:52:31Z")

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Seen on [this](https://ibb.co/kVUQ06) menu list.

No Google hits; could be a misspelling.

Possibly Togolese. Any ideas?

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**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/2 "2017-11-22T09:00:05Z")

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I think its a mispelling of “moulu” which appears to be French for “ground”. As in ground pepper, ground spices, etc.

Not sure if that makes sense in context

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**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/3 "2017-11-22T09:11:00Z")

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I’ve explored “moulu” with no results. Azidessi (misspelled as “azedessi” in the link) contains cornmeal (_maïs moulu_), but that’s about it.

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**Author:** ![WilyQuixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f9ae1b/32.png) [@WilyQuixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WilyQuixote)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/4 "2017-11-22T09:51:48Z")

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If I had to guess, I would say that “moulou” is a colloquial shortening of mais moulu, presumably in common use in Togo. I can’t imagine a groundmaize meal being too tasty without some additions which is where Azedissi (which appears to be a sauce) comes in.

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**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/5 "2017-11-22T10:18:14Z")

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Makes sense. Thanks.

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/6 "2017-11-22T13:14:18Z")

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Misspelling of _moules_ (mussels) maybe?  
[Here’s recipe.](https://www.foodwine.com/destinations/cookbooks/appetizer-atlas/fried-oysters.html)

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**Author:** ![kk\_fusion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kk_fusion/32/15276_2.png) [@kk\_fusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kk_fusion)\
**Post date:** [November 22, 2017, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-moulou-west-african-cuisine/802385/7 "2017-11-22T14:02:11Z")

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Thanks for that clue as well. I don’t think there were any mussels in play, but _moule_ can also mean “mould”.

So maybe a regional diminutive for something that’s been shaped/moulded?