🥗 STARTER
Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup)
Chicken simmered with onion, garlic, tomato, carrot, potato, green pepper and a little cardamom and chili into a light, fragrant broth, the soup of Chad's Ramadan table.
Chadian · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~486 cal · 53g protein · 26g carbs · 17g fat · 4g fiber · 6g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Chourba is the Chadian name for soup, and during Ramadan it is at the heart of the evening meal that breaks the fast. Chadian households cook it in much the same way: meat or chicken, sometimes fish, simmered with onion, garlic and tomato and finished with fresh herbs.
The version made for the fast is a chicken soup with carrots, green peppers and potatoes, warmed with , known locally as habahan, and a hot chili. Some cooks add cabbage near the end, and many finish the pot with fresh coriander and parsley.
It is served in bowls with bread or with fritters for dipping, the first comforting thing to eat after a long, hot day without food or water.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 1.2 kg chicken, cut into pieces
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 5 pods, lightly crushed
- 1 hot yellow or green chili, split, or more to taste
- 2 litres water
- 3 carrots, cut into chunks
- 1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
- 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander and parsley, chopped
Instructions
- 1Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat and cook the onions for 5 minutes until soft. Add the chicken and turn it for 5 minutes until lightly coloured.
- 2Add the garlic, tomatoes, cardamom and chili and cook for 3 minutes until the tomatoes soften. Pour in the water, add the salt and pepper and bring to a boil, skimming off any foam.
- 3Lower the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 25 minutes.
- 4Add the carrots and green pepper and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the potatoes and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken is falling from the bone and the vegetables are tender.✎ Chef’s noteAdding the potatoes last keeps them whole instead of dissolving into the broth.
- 5Taste for salt, stir in the fresh herbs and serve hot, with bread or fritters on the side.
Chadian home tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
N'Djamena. Boule is called aiyash by Chadian Arabs, and it is the same idea either way, millet or sorghum flour cooked stiff and shaped by hand. The sweet version, la bouillie, is thinner and eaten at breakfast, and dried okra and dried fish carry the pantry through the dry season.
🗺️
Chad. La bouillie is the sweet counterpart, a thin millet porridge taken at breakfast, sometimes with milk or tamarind. The country runs from Saharan desert in the north through savanna to the wetter south, and the cooking follows that line, dates and dried meat at the top, millet and okra in the middle, fish from Lake Chad and the rivers below.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Chad
DarabaA silky Chadian okra-and-greens stew enriched with peanut butter and tomato, eaten with millet.
KisserChadian sourdough crepes: thin, tangy fermented millet pancakes griddled soft and lacy, torn and dipped into sauce or eaten with sugar.
NashifGround beef sautéed with tomato, onion, and warm spices into a quick, savory dish eaten with bread or rice in N'Djamena.
Browse all Chad recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Chad meal
Bili-BiliDrink
Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers)Dessert
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup)?
Chicken simmered with onion, garlic, tomato, carrot, potato, green pepper and a little cardamom and chili into a light, fragrant broth, the soup of Chad's Ramadan table.
Where does Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) come from?
Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) is a Chadian dish from N'Djamena, Chad.
Can Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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