Okra is a vegetable with a long green pod, and when it is cut and cooked it releases a sticky, silky liquid that makes stews thick and smooth. People either love or find surprising this texture, but in Chad it is completely normal and very much enjoyed. Okra has been grown in Africa for thousands of years and is an important source of vitamins.
Peanuts — also called groundnuts — are another key ingredient in Chadian cooking. Unlike most nuts, peanuts actually grow underground, inside little papery shells attached to the roots of the plant. To make peanut paste for daraba, the peanuts are roasted, then ground into a smooth paste that dissolves into the cooking liquid and thickens the stew.
Every family has their own version of daraba. Some add dried baobab leaves for extra thickness; others use local greens like sorrel or spinach. In the south of Chad where food is more plentiful, meat or dried fish is added. In all versions, the stew is cooked slowly over a wood fire, and the smell of it cooking is something Chadians living abroad say they miss most.