Across much of Africa, soups and stews made with peanuts usually called groundnuts are staple main-meal foods. Depending on the hotness of your chilies or your cayenne, this version may be uncomfortably spicy. Unless you relish very hot foods, begin with no more than half the pepper specified here.

Boil chicken with ginger and the onion half, using about 2 cups water. Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, fry tomato paste in the oil over low heat for about five minutes. Add to the paste the chopped onions and tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the onions are clear. Remove the partially cooked chicken pieces and put them, along with about half the broth, in the large pot. Add the peanut butter, salt and peppers. Cook for five minutes before stirring in the eggplant and okra. Continue cooking until chicken and vegetables are tender. Add more broth as needed to maintain a thick, stewy consistency.

To make this a vegetarian dish, substitute 2 vegetable bouillon cubes for the chicken. Or make fewer pieces of chicken go farther by removing meat from the bone.

Like many West African foods, this stew is rather peppery. If mild foods are more your style, reduce the amount of peppers or cayenne. Serve over rice.