Tigadège Na (Malian Peanut Stew)

Name: Tigadège Na (Malian Peanut Stew)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 80 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Mali
Ingredients: 2 lbs chicken or beef, cut into pieces; 1 cup natural peanut butter; 1 onion, chopped; 3 tomatoes, chopped; 2 tbsp tomato paste; 1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole; 2 carrots, sliced; 1 sweet potato, cubed; 4 cups water or stock; 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Tigadège Na (Malian Peanut Stew) photo 1

6 servings20 min prep60 min cookMedium Mali

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The Story Behind It

The Tale of Tigadège Na (Malian Peanut Stew)

Story updated September 17, 2026

Tigadègè na, Mali's peanut stew, takes its name from the Mandinka words for 'peanut paste sauce' and is closely tied to the Bambara and Mandinka peoples. Peanuts themselves arrived in West Africa only in the 16th century via Portuguese trade from South America, yet the stew became so central to Malian cooking that it's often called the national dish.

Ingredients

Scale:· 6 servings

2 lbs chicken or beef, cut into pieces
1 cup natural peanut butter
1 onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole
2 carrots, sliced
1 sweet potato, cubed
4 cups water or stock
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

1Brown the meat with onion in oil in a large pot.
2Stir in tomato paste and chopped tomatoes and cook 5 minutes.
3Whisk peanut butter with a cup of warm water until smooth, then add to the pot along with remaining water and whole scotch bonnet.
4Simmer covered 30 minutes, then add carrots and sweet potato and cook 20 more minutes.
5Simmer uncovered until the sauce thickens and the oil from the peanuts rises to the top.
6Season with salt and serve over rice.

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