Chicken Kedjenou-inspired dish with polenta
Slowed-cooked chicken with peppers and spices in aromatic sauce, a one-pot culinary gem from Ivory Coast.
Ingredients
- 800 g chicken chicken leg or breast or mix
- 1 tsp butter
- 70 ml peanut oil if not available, use sunflower
SAUCE
- 1 large onion
- 1 spring onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp ginger paste or grated fresh ginger
- 400 g chopped tomatoes
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 bonnet pepper or other spicy pepper
OTHER
- 1/2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp thyme
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 3-4 leaf bay leaf
- 1 cup polenta
Instructions
- Fry the chicken drumsticks in a wide pot with butter and oil until golden and slightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
- Blend all sauce ingredients until smooth, then add the sauce to the same pot and fry for 5 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pot. Pour enough water to cover the meat. Add chilli, thyme, nutmeg and bay leaf. Cook for about 40 min. Liquid should reduce.
- Remove cooked chicken, setting aside half of the sauce.
- Cook polenta in the remaining sauce until done.
- Optionally, strip the meat from the bones or serve the chicken pieces whole.
Notes
The total calorie count for the whole dish, including the polenta, is approximately 1850 calories. When serving 4 people, this amounts to about 462 calories per portion. Please note that these calorie counts are estimates and can vary depending on the specific brands and quantities of ingredients used.