Chad
Daraba okra-vegetable stew, boule millet and grilled meats.
Iconic recipes
Daraba (Chadian Okra & Peanut Stew)
Chad's signature lush green stew — fresh okra simmered slowly with sweet potato, eggplant, tomato and groundnut paste in red palm oil until thick, glossy and 'drawing'. Served piping hot over boule de mil (millet ball).
Sauce Longue (Chadian Long Okra Sauce)
Southern Chad's iconic 'long sauce' — okra (sometimes thickened with mucilaginous bark) simmered with dried fish, onion, tomato and chili into a stretchy, ropey sauce that pulls from the spoon in long strands. Eaten with boule de mil.
Maafé Tchadien (Chadian Groundnut Stew)
Chad's version of the Sahelian peanut stew — beef or goat braised with tomato, onion and a generous slick of groundnut paste until the oil floats on top. Eaten with rice or boule de mil.
Karkanji (Chadian Hibiscus Drink)
Karkanji — the deep crimson dried-hibiscus drink found at every Chadian celebration. Steeped with ginger, cloves and a hint of mint, sweetened and served ice-cold.
Kisra (Fermented Sorghum Flatbread)
Paper-thin tangy sorghum crepes from northern and eastern Chad (shared with Sudan) — a naturally fermented batter cooked very fast on a hot griddle, then folded into stacks to scoop up daraba or maafé.
Tilapia Braisé (Lake Chad Grilled Fish)
Whole tilapia (or capitaine) from Lake Chad and the Chari River, scored, marinated in garlic, ginger, lemon and chili, then grilled over wood embers until the skin blisters and the flesh is smoky and just-set.
Boule de Mil
Millet-flour dough — Chad's everyday staple eaten with sauce.
La Bouillie
Sweet millet porridge with peanuts, sugar and ginger — a popular Chadian breakfast.