Chad | Stew

Daraba

Name: Daraba
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Chad, Central Africa
Ingredients: 400 g mixed greens, spinach, sorrel, cassava leaves, or sweet potato leaves, chopped; 200 g okra, sliced; 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed; 1 small eggplant, cubed; 3 medium tomatoes, chopped; 1 large onion, diced; ⅓ cup natural peanut butter; 3 cups water or light stock; 2 tbsp palm oil; 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper, minced or left whole; salt and black pepper, to taste

A Chadian peanut-okra stew with greens, tomato, sweet potato, and a creamy sauce made for boule or rice.

Country

Chad

Region

Central Africa

Time

65 min

Serves

Level

easy

Start cooking Explore Chad 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

Stew

A few kitchen essentials

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

Lidded pot

Knife & board

Wooden spoon

02 / Let’s cook

One step at a time

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

Back to Chad

5 steps 20 min prep 45 min cook (check method) 65 min total easy

Start the base

Heat oil in a large pot. Cook onion until soft, then add tomatoes and scotch bonnet if using. Cook until the tomatoes collapse.

Cook base 10:00

Simmer the firm vegetables

Add sweet potato, eggplant if using, okra, and water or stock. Simmer until the sweet potato is almost tender.

Simmer vegetables 20:00

Stir in the peanut

Whisk peanut butter with a ladle of hot broth, then stir it back into the pot until the sauce turns creamy.

Kitchen noteLoosening the peanut butter first keeps the sauce smooth.

Blend peanut 05:00

Add the greens

Fold in the chopped greens, cover, and cook until tender. The stew should be thick enough to sit on boule.

Cook greens 15:00

Finish

Season with salt and black pepper. Serve hot with boule, rice, or sorghum.

Sweet potato, pumpkin, or eggplant can move in and out of the pot depending on the market.

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, communal dining. Plan on a easy cook. Allow about 65 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

Boule (millet porridge) or rice

Follow the collection

Vegetarian Africa is the easiest collection to explore after this dish. Vegetarian Africa

Regional lane

Chad national table. A structured Chad 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.
Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

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

Daraba recipe from Chad — Daraba finished dish

Chef board

Build the table around Daraba

Boule (millet porridge) or rice

Best route from here

Chad national table

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