Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Daraba
A silky Chadian okra-and-greens stew enriched with peanut butter and tomato, eaten with millet.
Chadian · easy · serves 4
prep 15 min · cook 45 min
~371 cal · 14g protein · 27g carbs · 25g fat · 12g fiber · 9g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Daraba is a silky -and-greens stew from Chad, enriched with peanut butter and tomato until thick, creamy, and deeply savory. 's natural body and the richness of ground peanuts combine in a dish that is emblematic of Sahelian cooking, where both ingredients are staples.
The combination of , greens, tomato, and groundnut is nourishing and economical, a way of building a satisfying meal from the vegetables and legumes that grow well in Chad's climate. The peanut butter melts into the pot to make the whole stew smooth and rich.
Traditionally eaten with 'boule,' a stiff or porridge, daraba is scooped up by hand in N'Djamena and across Chad. It represents the practical, plant-forward home cooking that feeds families day to day in the region.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and gluten-, dairy-, 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 4
1 lb , 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.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
N'Djamena. N'Djamena eats boule, millet or sorghum rolled into balls, dipped into daraba, a slippery okra and tomato sauce enriched with peanut. Chadian cooking is Sahelian and thrifty, with dried fish, dried okra, and slow-simmered meat.
🗺️
Chad. Chadian cuisine is Sahelian, built on millet and sorghum porridges (aiysh) eaten with okra or meat sauces. Grilled meats, dates, and the fiery daraba stew reflect a crossroads of desert and savanna.
🌍
Africa. The structure repeats across most of the continent: one starch and one sauce. A grain or root is cooked stiff, torn or rolled by hand, and used to carry a stew of leaves, groundnut, okra or fish, usually from a shared bowl and with the right hand. UNESCO listings have followed that logic, inscribing couscous in 2020 as a shared Maghreb tradition and Ivorian attieke in 2024.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Chad
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.
Bouillie de MilChad's smooth millet breakfast porridge, simmered sweet and finished with a splash of milk, gentle enough for dawn and for small children.
Browse all Chad recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Chad meal
Bili-BiliDrink
Le Ouaddaï (Fried Millet Fingers)Dessert
NashifLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Daraba?
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?
This Daraba recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Daraba 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 count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), 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 Daraba take to make?
About 60 minutes total (15 minutes prep, 45 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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