AI-generated image
Sauce graine with chicken and smoked fish
Palm nut sauce with chicken
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
- 2 ⅝ lb chicken piecesbone in, skin removed
- 1 onionchopped
- 3 garlic clovescrushed
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 4 ¼ cups water
- 1 ¾ lb palm-nut cream (sauce graine concentrate)2 tins
- 2 tomatoeschopped
- 5 ½ oz smoked fishe.g. smoked mackerel, skin and bones removed
- 1 scotch bonnet chilliwhole
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 ⅛ lb rice or foutouto serve
Shop this recipe on Amazon
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (5)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
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.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Arroz con pitu de caleyaSoupy rice with chicken
A pitu de caleya is a cockerel raised free in the lanes, or caleyas, of rural Asturias; its firm, flavourful meat needs long stewing, and families around Villaviciosa and Grado still cook it for feast days. The stew is often finished as a soupy rice, so the deep chicken juices go into every grain. Use the best free-range chicken you can find. The braise includes dry white wine; replace it with extra stock and a squeeze of lemon if you want it alcohol-free. Chef's tip: brown the chicken slowly and deeply; that colour is where the flavour of the whole pot comes from.
Spanish
Chicken kdra with almonds
Kdra takes its name from the tall copper pot it was cooked in, and in Fez it is a festive dish for weddings and family gatherings rather than an everyday tagine. The sauce is the point: kilos of onion melted down with smen, saffron, white pepper and cinnamon until it turns pale gold and creamy, with no tomato or paprika at all. Soft chickpeas and almonds simmered until tender go into it, and the whole thing is scooped up with bread. Expect a mellow, perfumed, buttery richness rather than heat. Chef's tip: soak and simmer the blanched almonds with the chicken; they lose their crunch and become creamy like the chickpeas, which is how Fassi cooks like them.
Moroccan
Chicken tikka masala
Marinating the chicken in spiced yoghurt keeps it tender, and a few minutes under a hot grill gives it the smoky char of a tandoor. The sauce is rich but not heavy, finished with a little cream and dried fenugreek leaves.
Indian