Chadian Cuisine: Five Traditional Dishes

Chad sits at the crossroads of the Sahara, the Sahel and Central Africa. Its cuisine relies on grains grown around Lake Chad and along the Chari River, millet and sorghum above all, turned into boule or pancakes and served with okra and peanut sauces. For the Chadian diaspora living in France, these dishes remain a link to N’Djamena and the country’s regions. Here are five traditional dishes and drinks from Chad, with the ingredients to prepare them in France.

History and Influences of Chadian Cuisine

Chad brings together several cultural areas: the Saharan and Sahelian north, where grains and livestock farming dominate, populated notably by Toubous, Kanembous and Chadian Arabs, and the south, closer to forested Central Africa, where the Sara people notably live. This diversity is even found in the name of the grain boule, which changes by language: gou among the Zaghawa, tibi among the Teda, biri among the Kanembou, asida in Chadian Arabic.

Five Traditional Dishes of Chadian Cuisine

1. Boule

Boule, a thick paste of millet or sorghum cooked in water, is the most commonly eaten everyday dish in Chad. It is eaten with the fingers, dipped in a sauce such as daraba.

2. Kissar

Kissar is a pancake made from millet or rice, more widespread in towns than boule. It too is served with sauces such as daraba.

3. Daraba

Daraba is an okra sauce, simmered with tomatoes, peanuts and leafy greens. In the south of the country, among the Sara, it is prepared with plenty of okra and leafy greens, with a pronounced peanut taste; in the Sahelian north, it is more centred on meat and tomato, with peanut remaining secondary.

4. Karkandjal

Karkandjal is a dish of sorrel leaves prepared with meat or fish (fresh, dried or smoked), seasoned with peanut paste or sesame flour.

5. Karkandji

Not to be confused with the previous dish despite the similar names: karkandji is a drink, an infusion of dried hibiscus flowers, also called karkade, served sweetened and sometimes spiced with ginger or cloves.

The Ingredients of Chadian Cuisine to Gather in France

Several ingredients recur from one Chadian dish to another:

• millet and sorghum, the staple grains of boule and kissar
• dried okra, for daraba
• peanut paste, for daraba and karkandjal
• dried hibiscus flowers, for karkandji

Find this selection in our Central African grocery and our okra and sauce thickeners department.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between karkandji and karkandjal?

Karkandji is a sweetened drink made from dried hibiscus flowers. Karkandjal, despite the similar name, refers to a savoury dish of sorrel leaves cooked with meat or fish and seasoned with peanut or sesame.

Is daraba the same dish throughout Chad?

No: in the south of the country, among the Sara, daraba is prepared with plenty of okra, leafy greens and a marked peanut taste, while in the Sahelian north, it is more centred on meat and tomato.

Where to find Chadian ingredients in France?

NKOSI sells several ingredients of Chadian cuisine (millet, dried okra, peanut paste, dried hibiscus flowers) in its shop and ships them from the Paris area within 24 to 72 working hours, to mainland France (2 to 3 working days) and to ten European countries. The minimum order is 39 €: in France, delivery to a pickup point is then free, and home delivery is free from 69 €.