Recipes | I've Been Cooking

Daraba

Daraba is a hearty Central African okra and peanut stew with beef and dried fish, simmered with tomatoes, onions, garlic, and spinach, then served over rice. Rich, silky, and mildly spicy, it balances savory depth with the trademark okra-thickened texture.

🇹🇩 Chad$$

Sancoche

Sancoche is a hearty Caribbean one-pot stew loaded with salted pigtail, chicken, pigeon peas, coconut milk, and a medley of root vegetables and green bananas. Rich, savory, and gently spiced, it’s comfort food meant for sharing.

🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago$$

Bahamian Peas and Rice

A classic Bahamian one-pot of smoky bacon, fluffy long-grain rice, and tender pigeon peas simmered in coconut milk, aromatics, and thyme with a gentle Scotch bonnet heat. Rich, savory, and deeply fragrant—perfect with a squeeze of lime.

🇧🇸 Bahamas$$

Garagum Palaw

Garagum Palaw is a Turkmen-style lamb and rice pilaf scented with cumin, coriander, and turmeric, studded with chickpeas and sweet raisins for a savory-sweet balance. Aromatic and hearty, it’s a celebratory one-pot meal.

🇹🇲 Turkmenistan$$

Caldo de Mancarra

Caldo de Mancarra is a rich, comforting West African peanut stew from Guinea-Bissau made with tender chicken simmered in a savory peanut-tomato base, aromatics, and spinach. Served over rice with a squeeze of lime, it’s hearty, aromatic, and deeply satisfying.

🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau$$

Piton Pepper Pot

A rich, island-style beef and vegetable stew from Saint Lucia, simmered with Scotch bonnet heat, coconut milk, and fragrant thyme and allspice. Tender beef chuck, okra, pumpkin, and callaloo create a silky, hearty one-pot meal with tropical depth.

🇱🇨 Saint Lucia$$

Goulash

A hearty Hungarian-style goulash: tender beef simmered with onions, garlic, sweet paprika, caraway, bell pepper, and potatoes in a rich beef broth. Comforting, aromatic, and deeply savory with a gentle paprika warmth.

🇭🇺 Hungary$$

Machboos Laham

Machboos Laham is a fragrant Gulf-style spiced lamb and rice pilaf. Tender lamb simmers with tomatoes, onions, baharat, and dried black limes, then is folded with saffron-kissed basmati and a whisper of rose water for a deeply aromatic, celebratory main.

🇰🇼 Kuwait$$$

Poulet au Gingembre à la Gabonaise

A fragrant Gabonese ginger-chicken braise simmered in palm oil with tomato, chili, and herbs, brightened with lemon and finished with scallions and parsley. Traditionally served with rice and sweet fried plantains.

🇬🇦 Gabon$$

Charred Bahraini Machboos

Charred Bahraini Machboos is a fragrant Gulf-style spiced rice with seared chicken thighs, perfumed with baharat, black lime, saffron, and rose water. The rice absorbs a rich chicken stock and tomato base, while a quick char adds smoky depth and golden crusted bits.

🇧🇭 Bahrain$$

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