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Tigadèguèna (Groundnut Sauce with Chicken)

Tigadèguèna (Groundnut Sauce with Chicken) reads richness 5.7, umami 5.7 and nutty 5.2 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Malian main, about 1 hr 49 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 6.1 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.6 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 2.5 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 1.9 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.7 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 5.7 · Umami 5.7 · Nutty 5.2 · Allium 4.1 · Heat 4.1 · Salinity 4.0 · Sweetness 2.8 · Fruity 2.5 · Sourness 2.4 · Earthy 1.7 · Warm Spice 1.6 · Herbaceous 1.1 · Floral 1.0 · Bitterness 0.9 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (13)

• chicken — 1400 g
• peanut butter — 350 g
• peanut oil — 74 g
• onions — 400 g
• tomatoes — 500 g
• tomato paste — 44 g
• scotch bonnet chillies — 200 g
• garlic — 12 g
• water — 1300 g
• bay leaf — 1 g
• salt — 10 g
• ground black pepper — 5 g
• long-grain rice — 500 g

Time & effort: about 1 hr 49 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 98.3 kcal, 6.7 g protein, 3.2 g fat, 10.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (10 steps)

1. Season the chicken with the salt and black pepper and leave 10 minutes.
2. Brown it in the groundnut oil over medium-high heat in two batches, 10 minutes, until well coloured, then lift it out.
3. Add the sliced onion and cook 8 minutes until soft and golden at the edges.
4. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and fry 5 minutes until it darkens to brick red.
6. Add the blended tomatoes, the blended onion and the blended chilli and cook 15 minutes until the mixture thickens and the oil separates.
7. Whisk the groundnut paste with 500 ml hot water for 3 minutes, until it is a lump-free cream.
8. Return the chicken, pour in the groundnut cream, the remaining 800 ml water, the bay leaf and the whole scotch bonnet, and simmer gently, uncovered, 55 minutes, stirring up from the bottom every 10 minutes. The Malian sauce is deliberately leaner on vegetables than a Senegalese maafe; the groundnut and the meat carry it, and it should finish thick enough to coat a spoon.
9. Skim the risen orange oil back to a thin film, about 2 minutes, and take out the whole chilli.
10. Serve over steamed rice.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Middle Eastern Cinnamon-Spiced Beef and Rice Stuffed Peppers — Middle Eastern
• Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup) with Fufu — Ghanaian
• Sumagiyya (Gazan Chard, Chickpea and Sumac Stew) — Palestinian
• Granat Sup (Groundnut Stew with Chicken) — Sierra Leonean
• Rawon (East Javanese Black Beef Soup) — Indonesian

Keep reading: what richness, umami, nutty mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.