Ecomely

Language

Kédjénou: photo of the dish
Illustrative photo: Serein — CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Meat

Kédjénou

An Ivorian stew cooked slowly in a closed pot, with no water added: the meat, vegetables and spices cook in their own juices. An iconic family dish of Ivorian cuisine, served every day as well as at celebrations.

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Ingredients

Ingredients

Marinade

Spices & seasoning

Optional extras

On the side

Instructions

  1. Season the chicken pieces with the salt, pepper and the crumbled stock cube, then leave them to rest for 15 minutes.
  2. Blend the tomatoes, one onion, the garlic, the ginger and the chillies to make a smooth sauce.
  3. Heat the oil in a large thick pot and brown the chicken over high heat until golden on all sides.
  4. Add the second onion sliced and the pepper cut into strips, then fry for 3 minutes.
  5. Pour in the blended tomato sauce, add the tomato paste, thyme and bay leaf, then stir.
  6. Cover the pot tightly, with a cloth under the lid if possible to seal it well, and simmer over very low heat for 45 minutes without ever lifting the lid.
  7. Add the carrots and the aubergine if using, cover again and continue cooking for 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
  8. Adjust the seasoning and serve piping hot with white rice.

Variations and tips

Aubergine version. Replace the chicken with aubergines cut into large cubes, browned in oil before cooking, for a vegetarian kédjénou.

With what you can find here. If free-range chicken is hard to find, use standard chicken thighs and reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.

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Original Ecomely recipe.