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Tchakpolo

A Togolese stew of meat and vegetables flavoured with tomato, peanut butter, ginger, coriander, cloves and nutmeg.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 17 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 ↓

Tchakpolo

Time1–1.5 hours

Ingredients

Directions

Brown the base

  1. Heat the vegetable oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

  2. Add the chopped onions and minced garlic to the pot.

  3. Sauté the onions and garlic until they become soft and translucent.

  4. Add the meat chunks to the pot.

  5. Cook the meat until it is browned on all sides, stirring occasionally to ensure even browning.

  6. Add the diced tomatoes and bell peppers to the pot once the meat is browned.

  7. Continue cooking for a few minutes until the vegetables begin to soften.

Season and simmer

  1. In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste with a little water to form a smooth paste.

  2. Add the tomato paste mixture to the pot and stir well to combine with the meat and vegetables.

  3. Add the ground ginger, ground coriander, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, salt, and pepper to the pot. Stir to evenly distribute the spices.

  4. Pour in the water or beef broth, ensuring it covers the meat and vegetables.

  5. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

  6. Let it simmer for about 1–1.5 hours, or until the meat is tender.

  7. In a separate bowl, mix the peanut butter with a little water to create a smooth paste.

  8. Add the peanut butter mixture to the pot and stir well to incorporate it into the stew, which will thicken the sauce.

  9. Add the sliced carrots to the pot.

  10. Continue simmering for an additional 15–20 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.

Finish and serve

  1. Taste the tchakpolo and adjust the seasoning if needed, adding more salt and pepper to taste.

  2. Once the stew is ready, remove it from the heat.

  3. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley or cilantro.

  4. Serve hot with steamed rice, fufu, or another preferred side dish.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

857Calories
69 gProtein
48 gFat
38 gCarbs

Counts 17 of 20 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 17 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
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Parsley1 tbsp chopped fresh (3.8g)1
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Meatnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0
Coriandernot in our table0

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. Garlic + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  4. Clove + carrottop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,873 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

  5. Pepper + carrottop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,555 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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

What each ingredient does

Meat
Its proteins firm up and brown, and long simmering breaks down connective tissue to make it tender.
Peanut butter
Its fat and solids thicken the simmering sauce and add a rich, nutty body.
Tomato paste
Cooked down, it adds concentrated savory depth and a deeper red color to the sauce.
Onions
Softened in oil, they build a sweet, savory base for the whole stew.
Bell peppers
They soften during simmering, adding sweetness and body to the stew.
Carrots
They add natural sweetness and become tender in the sauce during the final simmer.

The step that matters

Browning the meat. Searing meat over medium heat creates browned flavor through the Maillard reaction. Crowding the pot or stirring too little causes steaming, which leaves the meat pale and blander.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (onion, garlic, meat, tomato, pepper, carrot, beef):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against onion, garlic, meat, tomato, pepper, carrot, beef. 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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