Ikinyobwa — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A thick, creamy sauce made from roasted ground peanuts simmered with tomatoes and onions, used as a rich accompaniment to ugali and vegetables throughout Burundi.

Ingredients

1 cup raw peanuts
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, diced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chili flakes

Instructions

1 Dry roast peanuts in a skillet over medium heat for eight minutes, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant.
2 Allow peanuts to cool slightly, then grind to a fine paste using a mortar and pestle or blender.
3 Heat oil in a saucepan, add diced onion, and cook for five minutes until softened.
4 Add chopped tomatoes and cook for five minutes until they break down into a sauce.
5 Stir in the ground peanut paste and water, mixing thoroughly to create a smooth, creamy sauce.
6 Simmer on low heat for ten minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened. Season with salt and chili flakes.

Did You Know?

Peanut sauce is so central to Burundian cuisine that children often learn to grind peanuts as one of their first kitchen tasks.