Guinea-Bissau | Soup

Caldo de Mancarra

Name: Caldo de Mancarra
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Guinea-Bissau, West Africa
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken pieces, bone-in; 1 cup roasted peanuts or peanut butter, ground to a paste; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; 2 large onions, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 inch fresh ginger, grated; 2 medium sweet potatoes, cubed; 1 whole hot pepper, left whole; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 5 cups chicken stock or water; salt and black pepper, to taste

Guinea-Bissau peanut broth with chicken, tomato, sweet potato, ginger, chile, and a creamy mancarra sauce for rice.

Country

Guinea-Bissau

Region

West Africa

Time

70 min

Serves

Level

medium

Start cooking Explore Guinea-Bissau recipes

01 / Get ready

Everything you need

Tap each ingredient as you gather it. Illustrations are visual guides; follow the ingredient names and quantities.

Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

Jump to method My cookbook

Ingredients

For 6 servings

Soup

A few kitchen essentials

Suggested from the recipe method. Use equivalent equipment you have.

Lidded pot

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Guinea-Bissau

5 steps 20 min prep 50 min cook (check method) 70 min total medium

Season and brown chicken

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown in oil, then remove.

Brown chicken 10:00

Cook the base

Cook onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes until soft and saucy.

Cook base 10:00

Add peanut broth

Whisk peanut paste with warm stock, then add to the pot with remaining stock, chicken, sweet potatoes, and hot pepper.

Simmer

Simmer gently until the chicken is tender and the sweet potato is soft.

Simmer caldo 45:00

Serve

Taste for salt and pepper. Serve hot over white rice.

Chicken, fish, shrimp, okra, carrot, or sweet potato may appear depending on the cook and coast.

Cooking notes, photos & serving ideas

Recipe context

More about this dish

Serving ideas, regional context, and cooking cues for when you want more detail.

When to cook it

Best for Everyday meals. Plan on a medium cook. Allow about 70 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

White rice, lime, cilantro, or boiled cassava

Regional lane

Guinea-Bissau national table. A structured Guinea-Bissau dish in the AfroKitchen archive.

Chef watch-outs

Adding too much liquid after the rice goes in.
Stirring too often once the grains should be steaming.
Stopping the base before the pepper, onion, or spice edge has mellowed.

How you know it is ready

The grains should be tender but still distinct, with steam carrying the seasoning upward.
The sauce should coat the spoon and taste rounded, not watery or raw.
The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Take a closer look at the dish and its serving ideas.

Caldo de Mancarra recipe from Guinea-Bissau — Caldo de Mancarra finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Caldo de Mancarra

White rice, lime, cilantro, or boiled cassava

Best route from here

Guinea-Bissau national table

Collections to keep cooking

Swallow and Soup Table

Explore more recipes