Embark on a flavorful adventure with vegan African recipes, transforming traditional dishes into plant-based delights. This article explores the rich culinary landscape of Africa, offering easy-to-make, healthy, and satisfying vegan options.
The Diversity of African Cuisine
The truth is, ‘African food’ is pretty much impossible to define. The continent is so vast and rich with hundreds - if not thousands - of different cultures. It’s also bursting with a wide variety of veggies, fruits and spices. Centuries of trade and the blight of colonialism have brought many different influences to the cuisine here, and today, globalisation plays some role in food trends, too. Luckily, that is changing.
That’s not to say there aren’t a whole lot of drool worthy native vegan delights from Africa, too! With African food you have options, regardless of your dietary preference.
How To Make Gambian Peanut Butter Stew/Soup🇬🇲 | DOMODAH |Maafé | Recipe
Featured Recipe: Vegan Gambian Peanut Stew (Domoda)
If you love a hearty comfort food recipe that’s secretly healthy, you’re going to fall hard for this Vegan Gambian Peanut Stew, a plant-based spin on various West African peanut stews. It will keep you satiated for hours, and it’s packed with aromatics and spices so it’ll satisfy your taste buds and comfort food cravings.
Peanut stews are common in West African countries, including in The Gambia as well as Senegal and Ghana, with variations abounding throughout the regions and across ethnic groups. In The Gambia, the dish is called domoda (it’s the national dish). You’ll find both vegetarian and meat versions, though the vegetarian version is more popular because meat is quite expensive. In Senegal, the dish is called mafe. It is made with tomatoes, is spicy, and often served over rice.
Read also: Explore Vegan Nigerian Cuisine
While peanut butter might sound like an unusual ingredient in a stew, I promise you it blends effortlessly with the spices and aromatics and lends a creamy richness you’ll adore. This West African Peanut stew is definitely a must try in my honest and humble opinion. With time from prep to eating under 45 minutes, you can get dinner on the table in record time. Not only is it delicious, its also healthy and super easy to make.
Key Ingredients and Substitutions
This peanut stew is made with some of my favorite ingredients from the plant world-sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, white beans, kale, and peanut butter (obviously). Here are some helpful tips for ingredients:
- Peanut Butter: If you’re entirely nut-free, the best substitute would be sunflower seed butter (unsweetened variety), though of course it will change the taste somewhat.
- Spicy peppers: Many traditional West African peanut stews are made with Scotch bonnet peppers. Those rank pretty highly on the Scoville Scale (a scale ranking the spiciness of peppers), so I opted for jalapeño peppers to keep this family-friendly. If you like things spicier, you can try a serrano pepper or cayenne pepper. Or, if you love spicy food, try a Scotch bonnet or habanero pepper!
- Kale: The kale cooks down so it softens and isn’t tough, but if you’re not a fan of kale, you can try another sturdy green, like thinly sliced collard greens, mustard greens, or Swiss chard.
Domoda Recipe
That’s all you need to know about making this vegan, gluten-free Vegan Gambian Peanut Stew (Domoda). This Vegan Gambian Peanut Stew is vegan, gluten-free, and plant-forward, but it tastes like comfort food!
- Heat a large, deep nonstick pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the coconut oil, and once it's shimmering, add the onions with a pinch of kosher salt. Cook until the onions are just starting to brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapeño peppers. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add in the tomato paste, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, and a generous amount of freshly cracked black pepper. Stir frequently and vigorously for 2 minutes, incorporating the tomato paste and spices into the onions. Add a few splashes of water to prevent the spices from drying out or burning.
- Pour in the vegetable broth or water, stirring with a spatula to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the thyme sprigs, sweet potatoes, peanut butter, white beans, and crushed tomatoes. Stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low or medium-low to maintain a rapid simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the sweet potato is soft and tender, stirring occasionally.
- Optional step: The stew should be quite thick by now, but if you want it to be even thicker and creamier, run an immersion blender through half of the stew (don’t blend it all - you want to retain some texture).
- Add the chopped kale and simmer for 3-5 minutes, or until wilted. If desired, use a fork to smash the sweet potatoes to further thicken the stew.
- Stir in the lemon or lime juice and cilantro. Season to taste, adding more salt as needed. Serve plain, or on top your favorite grain.
Serving Suggestions
This stew is hearty enough on its own, but to stretch out your meal (and budget) and make it heartier, you can serve it over your favorite grain. Options include white rice, brown rice, millet, quinoa, or your favorite grain.
Other Vegan African Recipes to Explore
Ready to take your taste buds on a wild trip? Here are some more vegan African recipes to try:
Read also: Delicious Ethiopian Vegan Cuisine
- Vegan Breakfast Ideas:
- Fruity Oats
- Cornbread (Mealie)
- Sierra Leonean-Moroccan Pancakes (Beghrir)
- Tofu Omelette
- Vegan Stews and Soups:
- Red Lentil Stew
- Braised Greens and Kale (Ye’abasha Gomen)
- Moroccan Soup
- Callaloo Soup
- Peanut Soup
- Vegan Main Dishes:
- Karantita (Algerian Chickpea Pancake)
- Curried Chickpea Stuffed Potato
- Ethiopian Cabbage, Carrot, and Potato Dish
- Jollof Rice
- Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew
- Roasted Veggies with Harissa Gravy Tagine
- Vegan Chicken and Dumplings (using Seitan)
- Vegan Snacks and Sides:
- Nigerian Black-Eyed Pea Fritters
- Roasted Jerk Plantains
- Coconut Flour Roast Potatoes
- Crispy Okra
- Plantain and Black Bean Bowl
- Vegan Versions of Traditional Dishes:
- Green Lentil Bobotie
- Vegan Yam and Tofu Scramble
- Vegan Gatsby
- Plantain Stuffed with Black Bean Mixture
Storage and Reheating Instructions
How long does this stew last? Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. I prefer to store the stew without any rice/grains - the rice tends to harden. The stew also freezes well - you can freeze it for 3 to 4 months.
To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers, leaving 1/2 inch head space for expansion. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags (remove as much air as possible before zip locking).
Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through.
More African-Inspired Vegan Dishes
Here are some additional ideas to expand your vegan African culinary repertoire:
- Red Red: A Ghanaian bean stew served with fried plantains and cassava flour.
- Baked Coconut Turmeric Chickpea Rice: A flavorful and visually appealing dish for entertaining.
- Mushroom Pepper Soup: A light, spicy, and flavorful soup enjoyed in West African countries.
- Black Beans and Plantain Stew: A hearty and filling stew.
- Sweet Potato Fries: Crispy and delicious fries.
With these recipes and ideas, you can create a diverse and exciting vegan African menu that is both delicious and nutritious.
Read also: Healthy African Vegan Food
