Chicken-ground stew (West African)

What you need to know:

This dish is a real tour de force that makes a great party dish and is greatly enhanced by the numerous garnishes that accompany it.

To serve six
This dish is a real tour de force that makes a great party dish and is greatly enhanced by the numerous garnishes that accompany it.

Ingredients
A range chicken would do nicely
Salt & pepper to taste
Cut into 12 or more pieces
1 cup finely chopped onions
1 tablespoon ground ginger
6 cups water or stock
Vegetable oil for browning the chicken
2 cloves crushed garlic
5 tomatoes pureed
½ cup dried shrimps
¼ coarsely crumbled dried fish
12 large okra stemmed
½ teaspoon finely grated ginger 6 hard-cooked eggs
6 whole chilies
¼ kg groundnut paste
½ teaspoon ground hot pepper
¼ cup tomato paste

Method
1. Rub some salt and pepper along with the dry ginger over the chicken pieces and then brown the chicken and set aside.

2. Sauté the onions until they become translucent then stir in the garlic and continue for a minute or so before adding the pureed tomatoes, tomato paste, ground shrimp, fresh ginger and red pepper. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil then simmer uncovered for five minutes or so before adding the water.

3. Add the dried fish plus the whole chilies and cook a while longer before adding the chicken. Gently cook uncovered over low heat for a quarter hour or so before adding the groundnut paste and the okra. Continue cooking until the chicken is done. Just before the dish is ready add the sliced eggs until they are heated.

4. To serve this wonderful stew you may choose to mound it attractively in a deep platter with the various garnishes surrounding it, or else serve directly from the casserole. BTW boiled rice is a perfect accompaniment.

Garnishes
Finely chopped onions
Spiced okra
A small finely chopped pineapple
Diced tomato salad
Coarsely chopped roasted groundnuts
Fufu or posho/millet
Avocado salad with ginger
Fried plantain cubes

In West Africa chicken groundnut stew is often served with fufu alone or with as many fruit or vegetable accompaniments that you may wish. The garnishes are generally served in individual bowls or you may wish to arrange them on a large platter. My own preference would be the former arrangement.