What’s Eaten Where: Chad

At 99.86 per cent, Cyprus has one of the highest literacy rates in the world. Granted, the island’s financial literacy leaves a lot to be desired! But when it comes to reading and writing, Cyprus tops the charts. Not so Chad. In this landlocked north-central African nation, just 22 per cent of locals are literate…

It’s unsurprising. Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world; and, even if you can fed your family, the fare is unlikely to be spectacular: millet, sorghum, okra and cassava are the staples, and meat is uncommon outside the cities.

In the north, where the savanna melts into the Sahara and the peoples are more nomadic, homemade dairy products appear on the menu. And in the south, fish such as perch, eel, carp and catfish can be found in Lake Chad and its surrounding rivers.

Enjoyed across the region, kisra is the traditional fermented bread, made using durra or what. Prepared in thin, baked sheets (called kisra rhaheeefa), it’s usually served alongside moulah (a slow-cooked stew prepared using vegetables and occasionally goat). The same initial concoction can also be used as a porridge, known as kisra aseeda or aceda, accompanied by veggie stew where possible.

Grains pop up again in aiyash, a popular Chadian snack food prepared from millet flour and sunflower seeds. Purportedly almost tasteless by itself, it’s often eaten with a sauce (usually a peanut paste or saka saka, a mix of finely chopped spinach and okra) purely to lend flavour.

Peanuts are one of the few crops that grow abundantly in Chad; they appear in several local dishes. They’re the main ingredient in daraba, a thick stew that features ground peanuts, okra, tomatoes, sweet potato, aubergine and spinach. And also in la bouillie, a breakfast dish made from rice or wheat mixed with milk, flour and local peanut butter.

There’s also jarret de boeuf, a hearty, slow-cooked stew that includes a thick cut of meat, carrots, sweet potatoes, leeks and aubergines. Normally enjoyed with rice or fufu and a sauce of chopped tomatoes, onions, crushed garlic and coriander, it’s apparently both tasty and nutritious. Sadly, it’s a dish that many locals will never taste.