This week on our Afro Cuisine recipe is Daraba. It is another #TastyThursday and we want you to savor a taste of Africa. You can search for the ingredients in African stores around you; or better still take a trip to Africa and give your tastebuds a treat.
There are many distinctive and beyond doubt authentic recipes in the cuisine of Chad. Most of the Chad recipes have main ingredients such as fresh fruits, vegetable and a few pieces of meat in them. The recipes from the Chad cuisine are not that hard to prepare if you have the right ingredients with you. And we would like you to try out Daraba.
Daraba is a great stew you can easily make with pretty much any leftover produce you have. What is consistently found in the dish has been okra, eggplant, sweet potato, peanut butter, and leafy greens of some sort.
Ingredients
2 tbsp. oil
1 medium onion, chopped, about 2 cups
1 Asian eggplant, skin on, diced, about 2 cups
3 small tomatoes, diced, about 2 cups
1 large sweet potato, diced, about 2 cups
1 beef or chicken bouillon cube
2 to 3 tsp. salt
¼ to ½ tsp. crushed chile flakes
20 fresh okra, sliced, or 1 ½ cups frozen
4 cups Swiss chard, chopped, about ½ bunch
½ cup peanut butter
Directions For Daraba
Sauté onion in one tablespoon of oil for 5 minutes, until softened.
Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and then the eggplant, saute for another 5 minutes. Pour in the tomatoes, and cook for a few minutes until the tomatoes start to break down. Put in the sweet potato, along with 5 cups of water. Add the spices and simmer for 15 minutes, then the okra and greens and simmer for 5 minutes. Put the peanut butter into a small mixing bowl and add ½ cup hot water, stir to blend the peanut butter into a smooth paste, and add to the soup. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve along with white rice.