A silky Chadian okra-and-greens stew enriched with peanut butter and tomato, eaten with millet.

Where does Daraba come from?

Daraba is a Chadian dish from N'Djamena, Chad.

Can Daraba be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Daraba recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Daraba take to make?

About 60 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.

Daraba — a N'Djamena, Chad recipe

Name: Daraba
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Chadian
Ingredients: 1 lb okra, sliced; 1 lb leafy greens (spinach or amaranth), chopped; 1/2 cup peanut butter; 3 tomatoes; 1 onion; 3 tbsp oil; to taste salt

Africa → 🇹🇩 Chad → N'Djamena

Daraba

Chadian · easy · serves 4

prep 15 min · cook 45 min

~363 cal · 14g protein · 25g carbs · 25g fat (estimated, per serving)

🍽️

Silky green okra and peanut stew

🇹🇩 N'Djamena

Daraba is a staple across Chad, a vegetable stew of okra and leafy greens made rich and creamy with peanut butter and a little tomato. Slippery, savory, and satisfying, it is spooned over boule — a stiff millet or sorghum porridge — as the everyday meal of Chadian homes.

Sign in to save recipes to your book and leave reviews.

Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 4 —

•

1 lb okra, sliced

•

1 lb leafy greens (spinach or amaranth), chopped

•

1/2 cup peanut butter

•

3 tomatoes

•

1 onion

•

3 tbsp oil

•

to taste salt

Instructions

1

Soften the onion in the oil, then add the tomatoes and cook to a sauce.

2

Add the okra and a cup of water and simmer until it softens and thickens the pot.

3

Stir the peanut butter (or sunbutter) into a little hot liquid, then fold it in.

4

Add the greens and simmer 15 minutes until silky.

5

Season and serve over stiff millet or rice.

N'Djamena home cooking.

Ratings & reviews

Sign in to rate this recipe once you’ve cooked it.

No reviews yet — be the first to cook it.

🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

📍

N'Djamena. A Sahel capital of millet balls and okra daraba.

🗺️

Chad. Sahelian crossroads of millet balls and okra stews.

🌍

Africa. Fifty-four countries of tagines, stews, and fire-kissed grills.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

👩‍🍳

Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →