Nachif

Ingredients

The meat

• 800 gbeef
• chopped small or coarsely minced
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper

The sauce

• 3onions, chopped
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 5tomatoes, chopped
• 3 tablespoonstomato purée
• 4 tablespoonsoil
• 2hot chillies, chopped
• or to taste
• 1 teaspoonground cumin
• 1stock cube
• about 400 ml water

To serve

• kissar
• fermented sorghum flatbread
• or boule
• a millet or sorghum porridge

Directions

1. Trim any hard sinew from the beef. Chop it small with a heavy knife. Chop it rather than putting it through a mincer. That texture is better than a smooth mince.
2. Season the chopped beef with salt and pepper. Let it sit while you prepare the rest. Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan. Add the chopped onions in to it. Cook them for a good ten minutes. Let them soften and turn golden.
3. Add the crushed garlic to the pan. Add the chopped chillies with it. Cook them for two more full minutes. Add the ground cumin to the pan.
4. Fry it for about thirty seconds. Thirty seconds in hot oil is the limit. Add all the chopped beef to it. Keep the heat high at this stage. Fry the beef for about eight minutes. Break it up with a wooden spoon. Break up any clumps as it cooks. It should be loose rather than lumpy. Keep it all moving in the pan. Judging the browning takes a look.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan. Add the tomato purée along with them. Cook them down for about ten minutes. The tomato must cook right down. Oil should separate at the edges. Raw tomato taste should be entirely gone.
6. Pour in all of the measured water. Add the stock cube to the pan. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for about twenty minutes. Stir it every few minutes or so. Let it cook uncovered near the end. Give it about ten more minutes. Taste it and adjust the salt as needed.
7. Add more chilli if you want more heat. They do not say which chilli is used. Adjust it entirely to your own taste. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon it out into a wide dish. Serve warm kissar alongside it. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• The atlas describes beef simmered in pieces, but every reference source available describes it otherwise: minced meat in sauce, or chopped beef in a spicy tomato sauce. The chopping is the defining feature — it gives far more surface to the sauce and makes the beef tender in under an hour rather than several, which suits a restaurant serving to order.
• The atlas also gives rice as an accompaniment, which no reference source supports. The attested partners are kissar — the thin fermented sorghum flatbread, the same as Sudanese kisra — and boule, the stiff millet porridge. Nachif belongs to the Arabic-speaking north and east; southern Chad has a different sauce tradition built on groundnut and okra.
• Chopping spreads surface bacteria through the meat, where on a whole cut they sit only on the outside, so chopped or minced beef must be cooked through and is not equivalent to a rare steak.

Substitutions

• Boule, the stiff millet or sorghum porridge, replaces kissar and is the everyday Chadian staple.
• Chop the beef by hand rather than mincing it, since hand chopping gives an uneven texture that is better than a smooth mince.

Variations

• Kabab and kamounia are the sibling stews of the same Chadian restaurant repertoire, differing by cut and seasoning.
• Sources say only that the sauce is spicy, not which chilli or spice supplies the heat.
• It is sold in cheap market-side restaurants and is everyday food rather than ceremonial.

History

A restaurant and household beef dish of N’Djamena, cooked down until the sauce clings; it is among the dishes served to guests with rice.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nachif?

Nachif is a main from Chad: beef simmered with tomato, onion and chili, served with rice or boule. A restaurant and household beef dish of N’Djamena, cooked down until the sauce clings; it is among the dishes served to guests with rice.

How long does Nachif take to make?

Nachif takes 20 minutes of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Nachif?

Yes, within limits. Boule, the stiff millet or sorghum porridge, replaces kissar and is the everyday Chadian staple. Chop the beef by hand rather than mincing it, since hand chopping gives an uneven texture that is better than a smooth mince.

What is the most important thing to get right in Nachif?

Trim any hard sinew from the beef. Chop it small with a heavy knife. Chop it rather than putting it through a mincer. That texture is better than a smooth mince.