Chicken stew, known as "Kuku Kienyeji" in Kenya, is a beloved dish celebrated for its rich flavors and comforting qualities. This recipe explores how to create this authentic Kenyan stew using traditional methods and fresh ingredients. I always enjoy getting feedback from my followers about all the recipes I develop and about the recipes they would like to see.
One of the questions that I was asked by one of my followers was a recipe for chicken stew. I love all things chicken and I quickly jumped at this suggestion hence the birth of this recipe. Chicken stew- kuku kienyeji is simply one of the heartiest meals on the face of this earth.
This chicken stew recipe contains the fresh flavor of ground coriander, green bell pepper and red onion which makes this so rich and with layers of different flavors. This would be absolutely fantastic with some rice or hot ugali or with your favorite starch.
Understanding Kuku Kienyeji
Kuku kienyeji refers to chicken that have not been bred or raised on commercial feeds but are left to feed on whatever they find around; free range chicken. Its meat is very lean and slightly darker in color compared to broiler. The taste is also more wholesome. Their meat can be a bit tough, but when cooked well, it literally slides off the bone. It is all bout technique.
Essential Ingredients
Here is a run-down of the ingredients you need for African Chicken Stew:
Read also: Pilau: A Kenyan Delight
- Chicken: Typically, whole “hard” chicken is used to make African chicken stew. The chicken used is tougher than conventional chicken. If regular American chicken is all you’ve got, you can still try this recipe. You can also use this exact recipe with a whole chicken cut up into pieces.
- Tomatoes: Fresh ripe tomatoes are used for African chicken stew. The riper the tomatoes, the tastier the stew. Roma tomatoes are preferable to use in this recipe because they are sot as acidic as other kinds of tomato. Also, use those with a rich red color if you can find them.
- Oil: You need enough oil to help cook down the tomatoes. Also, you could make this stew with a healthier oil like avocado oil or light olive oil.
- Onions: Sauteeing onions in oil is the way most recipes like this start.
- Herbs: I like my kuku kienyeji with very little spices, and just fresh herbs so that the natural sweetness of the meat can stand out and shine through.
- Garlic and ginger: These are two of my favorite ingredients and for good reason.
- White pepper: Because white pepper and chicken go so well together.
- Maggi seasoning cubes: These are a hallmark of West African cuisine.
- Salt: To taste.
- Curry powder: This is an optional ingredient for me.
- Tomato paste: This combines with fresh tomatoes to thicken the stew.
Optional Ingredients for a Spicy Kick
I should note here that you could add habanero peppers, scotch bonnet peppers, or cayenne pepper to make the stew spicy. In fact, many Africans love it that way. The stew is quite spicy, even with just one habanero pepper.
Step-by-Step Cooking Process
Here is a rundown of how to make African chicken stew. This tomato-based stew is a great entry point into West African Cooking.
1. Preparing the Chicken
First things first: slaughter your chicken. After the chicken has been slaughtered, remove the feathers (duh!). This process can be made easier by soaking the chicken in some hot water, which in turn softens the base of the feathers making removal of the feathers very breezy. After the feathers have been removed, you need to roast the chicken (very important step!). This eliminates any oduor and imparts a smokiness to the flesh.
2. Boiling the Chicken
There after, chop your chicken into sizable pieces and put it to boil until the meat is tender. Kuku kienyeji takes a bit longer to get cooked compared to broilers. You can also use a pressure cooker if you want to cut down on time taken to get it boiled. You will know that it is ready when it begins to slightly slide off the bone.
In our home, we boil our kuku kienyeji with some Munyu Musherekha, which not only amplifies the flavor but also further tenderizes it. I know you may be thinking, what on earth is Munyu Musherekha?!! Sherekha is a salt which also doubles up as a tenderizer widely used by Luhya people to add flavor and make certain foods softer or more tender. It is made from the ashes of burnt sun-burned dried bean pods or sun-dried matoke peels.
Read also: Sand Boa Feeding Guide
The ash is then put in a perforated tin with some water and left undisturbed. The resultant liquid is the musherekha. To tenderize, our kuku kienyeji (and kunde and sometimes meat too), we boil it with it. It is not compulsory, but makes a world of difference when used.
3. Making the Stew Base
In a separate sufuria, saute your onions, black pepper, garlic and half of your until they are soft. To this add your tomatoes, the remaining bell peppers and the tomato paste and let this saute for about 5 minutes. To prevent your tomatoes from sticking to the pan and to create a thick sauce as the base of the chicken, add 1/4 cup of water or vegetable stock to this. Always add a bit at a time, never flood with water the chicken as the stew will be too light.
4. Simmering the Stew
Let this simmer on low heat so that all the flavors sink, amalgamate in and the chicken tenderizes even further. The chicken will attain a beautiful into a stew consistency after about 8-10 minutes. Add your finely chopped coriander mix it in then take it from the heat immediately after.
Detailed Steps for African Chicken Stew
Here is a detailed breakdown of the steps to make African Chicken Stew:
- Chop and Season Chicken: Chop chicken into desired pieces. Season the chicken pieces with a seasoning blend made of ginger, garlic, and herbs like parsley and basil.
- Cook Chicken With Seasoning: Place the chicken in a large pot. Add enough water to be at the same level as the chicken. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together so all the ingredients get evenly distributed. Set the chicken on high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat down to medium and let it simmer until chicken is fully cooked. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the hardness of the chicken.
- Drain and Broil chicken: Drain the chicken from its stock and broil it in the oven until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon remove the chicken from the stock and place on a baking sheet lined with a rack. Reserve the chicken stock. Set oven to high broil. Place the chicken in the oven to broil on one side for about 8 minutes. Then remove the chicken, flip to the other side and let it broil for about 5 minutes.
- Sauté Onions and Cook Tomatoes: Heat oil on medium high heat and sauté chopped onions. Add freshly blended tomatoes and cook until they shrink. Rinse the tomatoes, cut them in chunks and place them in a blender with another 1/3 of the chopped onion. Blend into a paste (no need to add water before blending).
- Add Spices, Herbs and Chicken Stock: Add ginger, garlic, and herbs and cook to release their flavor. Add stock from the cooked chicken and curry powder.
- Add Chicken and Simmer Down: Add broiled chicken back to the pot and let it simmer in the stew.
Pour the one cup of oil into a large pot and let it heat up on high heat for about 3 minutes. Add the remaining onion to the oil and quickly stir. Let it saute for about 1-2 minutes. Add the tomato-onion blend to the oil and let it cook for about 10 minutes -20 minutes while you stir from time to time to prevent burning. Let it cook until the tomatoes significantly dehydrate and it's mostly just the tomatoes and oil left in the pot.
Read also: KES to USD Exchange Rate
Add the tomato paste to the pot and let it cook while stirring continuously until the tomatoes completely dehydrate and there is just tomato and oil in the pot. Add the remaining half of the green seasoning blend to the pot and stir so the flavors can bloom. Let it cook while you stir from time to time for 2-3 minutes. Add in the reserved chicken stock, the curry powder, the remaining Maggi cube or 1 more teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder. Also add half to one cup of water depending on your preferred level of thickness. Stir everything to combine. Add the broiled chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Let everything simmer for 5 minutes so the chicken can marry the flavors in the stew.
Turn off the heat and your African Chicken Stew is done! Serve stew warm over hot fluffy rice with a side of sweet fried plantains if you like.
How To Make Kenyan Chicken Stew #food #shorts
Tips for the Best Kuku Kienyeji
- Chicken Parts: Although I used a whole chicken for this recipe, you can use different parts like chicken thighs or drumsticks.
- Air Fryer Option: Yes, you can! I do this quite often, and I actually prefer air-fried chicken thighs. The chicken ends up really crispy, and there is less monitoring compared to browning it in oil. Preheat your air fryer to 390F and brown it for about 10 minutes on each side, flipping with a tong. The chicken should be spread out on a layer and should not be stacked.
- Adjusting Oil Quantity: Yes, you can reduce the quantity of oil used BUT it is important that you start with the one cup of oil the recipe calls for. That’s because you need enough oil to help cook down the tomatoes.
Serving Suggestions
How delicious does this look…. Serve stew warm over hot fluffy rice with a side of sweet fried plantains if you like. This would be absolutely fantastic with some rice or hot ugali or with your favorite starch.
Storage Tips
This chicken stew keeps very well in the fridge for up to a week, and you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Variations
African chicken stew is versatile and goes great with many dishes, like rice, spaghetti, or plantains. You can also use this exact recipe with a whole chicken cut up into pieces. Kuku - Kenyan Chicken Mung Bean Stew is a perfect meal with rice or chapati.
A Taste of Africa
African cuisine is very diverse and varied, with different colonial influences from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and England. In fact, the first time I realized this was about 10 years ago when I met an Indian person from Kenya although his family was originally from Goa. Vivek spoke perfect Swahili and it was amazing to see him switch from Swahili to his African friends and then back to another language with Indian friends and of course English to me and others. When we all went out, it was like a meeting of the United Nations.
Popular articles:
tags: #Kenya
