Still pushing further towards the goal which is South Africa. The next country up on the list is Chad.

Here are a few facts about Chad:

• Capital: N’Djamena
• Population: about 13.7 million
• Area: 1 284 000 km²
• Currency: Central african CFA Franc

After the food from Niger, which did not contain a lot of spices, I went with a recipe that should be a little spicier: southern Chadian beef in peanut sauce. It is a beef stewed with onions and spices where peanut sauce is added at the end. It contains a few spices and red peppers. So far going down Africa I found that a lot of the food seemed to be either stewed or grilled. I guess so far I only picked stews and maybe I will be due some day for a second pass with more grilled food!

Southern Chadian beef in peanut sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chuck roast
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2  tablespoon chili powder
• 2 sliced medium onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 red peppers (I used 2 but it is up to you how spicy you want this to be)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

Directions:

 

As usual, first thing first! Prepare all your ingredients. Dice the meat in 1 inch cubes. Chop the onions, the peppers and the garlic. Measure the spices and the tomato paste.

In a heavy bottom pot (I used a dutch oven) heat some oil and brown the meat. While the meat is browning add the chili powder and the nutmeg.

Once the meat is brown add the onions, the garlic, the peppers, and 3 cups of water. Bring it to a boil and reduce heat to a slow simmer.

Cover and simmer for about 1 hour and a half.

After 1 hour and a half, heat the peanut butter with a tablespoon of oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the peanut butter to the stew while stirring and slowly simmer for an extra 20 minutes uncovered.

Serve with rice. I used red rice for color but white rice works perfectly fine.

bil-hanā’ wa ash-shifā’ !