Benachin, one pot under pressure

Benachin, meaning one pot in Wolof, cooks rice, vegetables and a protein, most often sardinella, together in a single pot. A 2025 account of the dish traces the culinary lineage commonly associated with it back to the historic Jolof Empire, and describes it, in one chef's words, as a dish that 'can't be left out of any cultural occasion' across Gambia and Senegal alike. ^{[thin-ink-benachin-2025]}

The same account documents a present-day threat to the dish's usual ingredients: industrial overfishing of sardinella across West Africa, rising sea temperatures, and sardinella prices that the reporting describes rising roughly fivefold over seven years. Some households have substituted imported frozen chicken as the traditional fish becomes costlier, a change to a national dish driven by pressure on the fishery rather than by taste. ^{[thin-ink-benachin-2025]}