Domoda
The Gambia's national stew: chicken or lamb in a thinner peanut-and-tomato sauce sharpened by lime and tamarind. Poured generously over rice.
Overview
Chicken thighs (or lamb) are browned, onions and tomato cooked down with garlic and a single whole chilli, then the meat simmers in stock until tender. A loose peanut paste is stirred in for the final 20 minutes, kept thin enough to ladle. Sweet potato or pumpkin softens in the sauce. A spoon of lime juice at the end balances the richness.
Ingredients
Stew
- 8 bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed (or 800 g lamb neck, cut in chunks)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 onions (large, finely chopped)
- 4 garlic cloves (crushed)
- 2 tablespoons tomato purée
- 2 tomatoes (medium, chopped)
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli (left whole)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Maggi cube
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper (optional, traditional)
- 1 litre chicken stock
- Salt
Peanut sauce
- 200 g smooth natural peanut butter
- 250 ml hot water
Vegetables
- 1 sweet potato (medium, or 400 g pumpkin, peeled, cut in 3 cm chunks)
- 2 carrots (sliced into thick rounds)
To finish
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste (optional; see Notes)
To serve
- 400 g long-grain white rice, steamed
- Fresh coriander leaves
Method
Stage 1 - Brown the chicken
- Season the chicken thighs with salt.
- Heat the oil in a wide pot over medium-high heat. Brown the thighs in two batches, 3 minutes a side, until golden. Set aside.
Stage 2 - Build the base
- Lower the heat to medium. Cook the onions in the same pot for 7 minutes until soft.
- Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the tomato purée and fry for 3 minutes until darker.
- Add the fresh tomatoes, whole chilli, bay leaves, Maggi cube, black and white pepper. Stir and cook 5 minutes until the tomatoes break down.
Stage 3 - Simmer
- Return the chicken with any juices.
- Pour in the stock to cover.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook 25 minutes.
Stage 4 - Add peanut and vegetables
- Whisk the peanut butter with the hot water in a bowl until smooth.
- Stir the peanut mixture into the pot. The sauce should be loose; ladle-able rather than spoon-coating. Add a splash of water if it tightens too much.
- Add the sweet potato and carrots.
- Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is falling off the bone.
Stage 5 - Finish
- Stir in the tamarind paste, if using.
- Add the lime juice. Taste and season with salt.
- Discard the whole chilli (or chop a little of it back in if you want heat).
Stage 6 - Serve
- Heap rice into bowls. Ladle the stew generously over the top with plenty of sauce.
- Scatter coriander leaves.
Notes
- Lighter than mafé: Domoda uses about a third less peanut butter and more liquid than mafé. The sauce should pool, not coat.
- Tamarind for the trademark sourness: Authentic domoda often uses bitter tomato (jakhatu) for its citrusy edge; tamarind is the easiest substitute outside West Africa. Lime alone also works.
- Skin off the chicken: Skin renders too much fat into a peanut sauce and turns it greasy. Remove it.
- Pumpkin or sweet potato: Either is traditional; pumpkin breaks down a little and helps thicken, sweet potato holds its shape.
Variations
Lamb domoda: Use neck or shoulder, brown longer (8 minutes per batch), and extend the first simmer to 50 minutes before adding peanut and vegetables. Bitter aubergine: Add 200 g of cubed African aubergine (or regular aubergine with a teaspoon of mustard powder) for an authentic edge.
Serving
Serve with: A wide pile of steamed white rice in a shallow bowl, sauce ladled around. Garnish with: Fresh coriander leaves and a lime wedge on the side.
Storage
- Keeps 3 days refrigerated.
- Freezes well 2 months.
- Reheat gently with extra stock or water to loosen the sauce.
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