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Poulet Moambé

Name: Poulet Moambé
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Congolese
Ingredients: 1 kg chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks); 150 ml palm oil (or red palm fruit paste); 2 onions, finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated; 2 scotch bonnet chillies (or habanero), whole; 2 tomatoes, chopped; 200 ml chicken stock or water; 1 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 1 handful spinach or cassava leaves

Traditional Congolese chicken in rich palm nut sauce. Congolese recipe on the hob, with quantities that scale to your servings.

Ingredients

1 kg chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)

150 ml palm oil (or red palm fruit paste)

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated

2 scotch bonnet chillies (or habanero), whole

2 tomatoes, chopped

200 ml chicken stock or water

1 tsp salt

0.5 tsp black pepper

1 handful spinach or cassava leaves

Method

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat palm oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Brown the chicken pieces on all sides, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.

Sauté aromatics: In the same pot, cook onions for 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic and ginger, cook 1 minute more.

Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes until broken down into a thick paste.

Return the chicken. Add stock and whole scotch bonnets. Do not pierce the chillies — they add flavour without extreme heat.

Cover and simmer on low heat for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened and turned deep orange.

Add greens: Stir in spinach or cassava leaves in the last 5 minutes.

Serve with fufu, steamed rice or boiled cassava. Remove the whole chillies before eating.