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Kanda

A West African peanut stew made with chicken or beef, peanuts, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, garlic, and spices.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Kanda

Time1–1.5 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the peanuts

  1. If using peanuts with skins, remove the skins by roasting them in the oven for a few minutes until the skins loosen.

  2. Rub the roasted peanuts between your hands or use a clean kitchen towel to remove the skins.

  3. In a blender or food processor, grind the peanuts until they form a fine powder.

  4. Set the ground peanuts aside.

Brown and soften

  1. Heat oil in a large cooking pot over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onions and sauté until they become translucent.

  3. Add the chicken or beef pieces to the pot and cook until they are browned on all sides.

  4. Stir in the minced garlic, diced tomatoes, and bell peppers.

  5. Cook for a few minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

Simmer and serve

  1. Add the tomato paste, peanut butter, ground peanuts, paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper to the pot. Mix well to combine all the ingredients.

  2. Pour in the chicken or beef broth and stir to incorporate everything.

  3. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  4. Once it boils, reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with a lid.

  5. Allow the stew to simmer for about 1–1.5 hours, or until the meat is tender and the flavors have melded together.

  6. Taste the stew and adjust the seasoning if needed, adding more salt, pepper, or spices according to your preference.

  7. Serve the kanda hot, garnished with fresh parsley or cilantro if desired, over cooked rice or with fufu.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

808Calories
68 gProtein
47 gFat
29 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 13 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Peanut + garlictop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together877 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

  4. Pepper + clovetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Chicken + garlictop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken or beef
Provides the main protein, which browns for flavor and becomes tender during slow simmering.
Peanuts
Ground into a powder, they thicken the stew and add nutty richness.
Onions
Soften and sweeten as they cook, forming the flavor base of the stew.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated tomato flavor and deepens color through cooking.
Peanut butter
Adds body and a creamy texture that helps thicken the sauce.
Chicken or beef broth
Supplies the liquid that cooks the meat and forms the body of the stew.

The step that matters

Browning the meat. Searing the chicken or beef until browned on all sides builds deep, savoury flavour through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pot or stopping too early leaves the meat pale and the stew flat-tasting.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, peanut, onion, tomato, pepper, garlic, butter):

  1. Corianderfits better
  2. Cuminfits better
  3. Thymefits better
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, peanut, onion, tomato, pepper, garlic, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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