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Dama (Sudanese beef and tomato stew)
Dama'a: beef cooked slowly in a thick, garlicky tomato and onion sauce, eaten with gurasa in Khartoum
Thick, red and full of garlic, dama is the tomato stew that Khartoum families make for weekday lunches and that restaurants serve in shiny steel bowls with gurasa, the soft, thick Sudanese pancake, or with bread and rice. Beef is browned, then simmered with a generous amount of onion, fresh tomato, tomato paste and gentle warm spices, cardamom and a little cinnamon, until the sauce is rich enough to cling to every piece. The meat ends up spoon-tender. Adding all the liquid at once is the common mistake; it gives a thin, watery sauce, so add water little by little as the stew needs it. Chef's tip: grate the onions rather than chopping them, so they melt into the sauce and thicken it without flour.
- Total time
- 105 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ lb beef chuckcut into 3 cm cubes
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 onionsgrated
- 6 cloves garliccrushed
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 4 tomatoesgrated
- 2 cups hot wateradded gradually
- 1 ¼ tsp salt
- 1 green pepper (optional)diced
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Pat the 1 ¾ lb beef chuck dry. Heat the 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy pot over a high heat and brown the beef in two batches, 4–5 minutes each, until well coloured. Lift out.
10 minStep 2: Lower to medium, add the 3 onions and cook for 10–12 minutes, scraping the base, until the moisture has gone and the onion turns golden.
12 minStep 3: Add the 6 cloves garlic, ½ tsp ground cardamom, ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp ground black pepper and stir 1 minute, then the 3 tbsp tomato paste and cook 2 minutes until it darkens.
3 minStep 4: Add the 4 tomatoes, the beef and its juices and 250 ml of the 2 cups hot water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook on a low heat for 1 hour, adding more water a splash at a time only when the sauce looks dry.
60 minStep 5: Add the 1 ¼ tsp salt and 1 green pepper and simmer uncovered for 5–10 minutes, until the beef is tender and the sauce is thick with oil glistening on top.
8 minStep 6: Serve hot with gurasa, bread or rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 470 kcal
- Protein
- 44 g
- Carbs
- 16 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Fibre
- 4 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does dama (Sudanese beef and tomato stew) take?
- About 105 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 90 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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