Caldo de mancarra

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1.5 kgfree-range chicken, jointed into pieces
• Juice of 1 lime and 1 tbsp coarse salt, for washing
• 1 tspblack pepper
• 2stock cubes

Peanut sauce

• 400 gmancarra, that is roasted groundnuts, pounded to a smooth paste, or 400 g unsweetened peanut paste
• 2onions (about 250 g), finely chopped
• 4tomatoes (about 400 g), chopped
• 2 tbsptomato purée
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 30 gfresh ginger, grated
• 2malagueta or scotch bonnet peppers, 1 chopped and 1 whole
• 80 mlred palm oil or groundnut oil
• 1.5 litreswater
• 1bay leaf
• 1 tspsalt

To serve

• 500 gwhite rice, steamed
• Sliced onion in lime juice

Directions

1. Wash the chicken pieces with lime juice and coarse salt, rinse and dry, then season with black pepper and one crumbled stock cube.
2. If starting from whole nuts, roast the groundnuts in a dry pan for 8–10 minutes until the skins loosen and they smell toasty, rub off the skins in a cloth, and pound them in a mortar until the oil comes out and they turn into a smooth, heavy paste.
3. Brown the chicken in the oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat, in batches, until deeply coloured on all sides, then lift out.
4. Fry the onion in the same fat for 8–10 minutes until golden, then add the garlic, ginger, chopped pepper and tomato purée and fry 3 minutes more.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook them down for 10 minutes until jammy and the oil separates at the edges.
6. Pour in the water, add the bay leaf and the second stock cube and bring to a simmer.
7. Slacken the peanut paste with two ladles of the hot liquid, whisking until completely smooth, then stir it back into the pot. Adding the paste neat makes lumps that never disperse.
8. Return the chicken, drop in the whole pepper and simmer uncovered, stirring every few minutes so the base does not catch, for 45–55 minutes.
9. The caldo is ready when the chicken is falling from the bone, the sauce coats a spoon thickly, and a clear layer of groundnut oil floats on the surface. That risen oil is how a Bissau cook knows it is done.
10. Taste for salt, remove the whole pepper, and serve poured over white rice with sharp onion salad alongside.

Technique

• Mancarra is the Guinea-Bissau Creole word for groundnut, and the country is built on it: peanut and cashew are its two great crops, and this stew is the national comfort dish.
• Do not cover the pot. The sauce must reduce and split slightly so the oil rises; a lid traps steam and leaves it pale and thin.
• Stir often once the peanut goes in. Groundnut paste is heavy and sticks and burns on the base of the pot faster than anything else in the kitchen.
• Use unsweetened, unstabilised peanut paste. Supermarket peanut butter with sugar and hydrogenated fat gives a cloying sauce that will not separate.

Substitutions

• No fresh chicken: the same sauce is made with beef shin, simmered for 2 hours instead, or with smoked fish added in the last 20 minutes.
• No palm oil: groundnut oil is fine and common; the sauce is paler but tastes almost the same.
• A spoonful of tamarind paste stirred in near the end gives the sourer version made in some households.

Variations

• Caldo de mancarra with chicken, the classic Sunday pot.
• Mafé-style versions with sweet potato, cassava and cabbage cooked in the sauce.
• The same sauce over fonio or steamed cassava couscous instead of rice.

History

Mancarra is the Creole word for groundnut, from Mandinka; the peanut stew is shared across the Senegambia and eaten over rice at family meals.

Frequently asked questions

What is Caldo de mancarra?

Caldo de mancarra is a soup & stew from Guinea-Bissau: chicken simmered in thick roasted-peanut sauce, served over rice. Mancarra is the Creole word for groundnut, from Mandinka; the peanut stew is shared across the Senegambia and eaten over rice at family meals.

How long does Caldo de mancarra take to make?

Caldo de mancarra takes 30 min of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Caldo de mancarra?

Yes, within limits. No fresh chicken: the same sauce is made with beef shin, simmered for 2 hours instead, or with smoked fish added in the last 20 minutes. No palm oil: groundnut oil is fine and common; the sauce is paler but tastes almost the same. A spoonful of tamarind paste stirred in near the end gives the sourer version made in some households.

What is the most important thing to get right in Caldo de mancarra?

Slacken the peanut paste with two ladles of the hot liquid, whisking until completely smooth, then stir it back into the pot. Adding the paste neat makes lumps that never disperse.