Stewed · Peanut Sauce

Tigadèguèna (Malian Peanut Stew)

Photo: Shannon Nickerson / Unsplash · Unsplash License

Its name literally translates from Bambara as “peanut-paste sauce” — Mali's national dish is named after its defining ingredient.

Tigadèguèna is a thick, russet-colored stew built on roasted-peanut paste simmered with tomatoes, onions and chunks of beef, lamb, or chicken until the oil rises to the surface. Street cooks in Bamako ladle it over mounds of rice or couscous from big communal pots, often stirring in okra, sweet potato, or bitter eggplant depending on what's in season.

Why it's made this way: Groundnuts arrived in West Africa from the Americas via Portuguese traders in the 16th century and were so well suited to the Sahel's soil that peanut sauce became a pan-regional staple. Mali's Mandinka and Bambara peoples are often credited with the dish, though neighbors claim their own versions as mafé and domoda.