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Sauce graine with chicken and smoked fish
Ivorian palm-nut sauce, deep red and rich, from the Abidjan maquis
Sauce graine, palm-nut sauce, is the Sunday stew of southern Côte d'Ivoire, made in villages from freshly pounded palm fruit and in Abidjan from tins of palm-nut cream. It is deep orange-red, rich and slightly smoky from the smoked fish that goes in with the chicken, and is eaten with foutou banane, rice or attiéké. The mistake to avoid is boiling it hard at the end; palm-nut sauce should simmer gently until the oil rises to the top, which is how you know it is done. Chef's tip: use bone-in chicken; the bones give the sauce body.
- Total time
- 100 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Put 2 ⅝ lb chicken pieces, 1 onion, 3 garlic cloves, ¾ tsp salt and 1 chicken stock cube in a heavy pot with 200 ml of ¾ cup water. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 10 minutes so the chicken releases its juices.
10 minStep 2: Stir 1 ¾ lb palm-nut cream (sauce graine concentrate) with the rest of 3 ¼ cups water in a bowl until smooth, then pour it over the chicken. Add 2 tomatoes. Bring to a gentle boil.
8 minStep 3: Add 5 ½ oz smoked fish, 4 small garden eggs or 1 small aubergine and 1 scotch bonnet chilli. Simmer uncovered over a low heat for 50–60 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes and scraping the bottom.
60 minStep 4: The sauce is ready when it has thickened to a coating consistency and a layer of red oil has risen to the top. The chicken should be tender and reach 165°F.
Step 5: Season with the remaining ¾ tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Skim off some of the oil if you like a lighter sauce. Remove the chilli.
Step 6: Serve with 1 ⅛ lb rice or foutou. Keeps 2 days in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 590 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 45 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does sauce graine with chicken and smoked fish take?
- About 100 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 80 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic cloves?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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