African Chicken Recipes
A tour of Africa through chicken: 35 authentic dishes, each tied to a real country and region, each with its cultural story and dietary swaps built in.
35 recipes
Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & OlivesMarrakesh-Safi, Morocco · medium · 1 h 20 minSlow-braised chicken perfumed with saffron and ginger, brightened by salty preserved lemon and green olives.
Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Olives Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup)Ashanti, Ghana · easy · 1 h 10 minA silky, gingery peanut soup simmered with chicken and chilies, eaten with soft rice balls.
Nkatenkwan (Groundnut Soup) Frango à ZambezianaMaputo, Mozambique · medium · 3 h 5 minChicken marinated in lemon, garlic and piri-piri with coconut milk, then grilled slowly over calm coals and basted with more coconut until it is gold outside and soft within.
Frango à Zambeziana Frango Piri-PiriMaputo, Mozambique · medium · 5 hButterflied chicken grilled under a lemon-garlic piri-piri baste, the original of a dish the world now queues for.
Doro WatAmhara, Ethiopia · medium · 1 h 55 minEthiopia’s celebration dish: chicken slow-stewed in a mountain of caramelized onions and berbere, with whole eggs.
Doro Wat Muamba de GalinhaLuanda, Angola · easy · 1 h 15 minAngola’s national dish: chicken stewed golden in palm oil with okra, garlic, and chili until the sauce turns silk.
Muamba de Galinha Poulet YassaCasamance, Senegal · easy · 5 h 15 minChicken smothered in a mountain of lemon-and-mustard onions, grilled then braised, Casamance’s gift to West Africa.
Poulet Yassa Chicken BastillaCasablanca-Settat, Morocco · advanced · 1 h 45 minA sweet-savory pie of spiced shredded chicken and almonds in crackling pastry, dusted with sugar and cinnamon.
MolokhiaCairo, Egypt · easy · 40 minFinely minced jute leaves cooked into a green, garlicky soup finished with a sizzling coriander-garlic ta’leya.
Molokhia AmiwoCotonou, Benin · medium · 1 h 15 minCornmeal cooked directly in a spiced red tomato-and-pepper sauce, served with braised chicken.
Amiwo Poulet NyembweLibreville, Gabon · easy · 1 h 20 minGabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Poulet Nyembwe Swazi Chicken Stew with PhutuMbabane, Eswatini · easy · 1 h 10 minA homey Eswatini chicken stew in tomato and onion, served with crumbly steamed maize phutu.
Swazi Chicken Stew with Phutu Basotho Chicken Stew with PapaMaseru, Lesotho · easy · 1 h 10 minA highland chicken stew served with papa, the stiff maize porridge of Lesotho.
Basotho Chicken Stew with Papa Kedjenou de PouletAbidjan (Lagunes), Côte d’Ivoire · easy · 1 h 30 minChicken slow-cooked sealed in a pot with peppers, tomato, and aromatics, with no added water, cooking in all its own juices.
Kedjenou de Poulet LuwomboKampala, Uganda · medium · 2 h 55 minChicken or beef stewed in a rich groundnut sauce, steamed inside a banana leaf, a royal Ganda dish for celebrations.
Luwombo Poulet DGLittoral (Douala), Cameroon · medium · 1 h 5 minFried chicken and sweet plantain simmered with peppers and vegetables in a rich tomato sauce, a Cameroonian celebration favorite.
Poulet DG Mine FritePort Louis, Mauritius · easy · 35 minWok-fried egg noodles tossed with chicken, prawns, and vegetables in a savory sauce, Mauritius's favorite street lunch.
Mine Frite Palm Butter RiceMonrovia, Liberia · medium · 1 h 15 minChicken simmered in a rich palm-nut sauce with chili and greens, ladled over rice, one of Liberia's most cherished dishes.
Palm Butter Rice DjenkouméLomé, Togo · medium · 1 hA savory red maize-meal paste cooked with tomato and palm oil, served with grilled chicken, a Togolese celebration favorite.
Djenkoumé Poulet Braisé (Cameroonian Grilled Chicken)Littoral (Douala), Cameroon · medium · 2 h 5 minChicken marinated in garlic, ginger, and scotch bonnet, gently simmered tender, then charred over coals and basted with its spiced marinade.
Moamba de Ginguba (Peanut Chicken Stew)Luanda, Angola · medium · 1 h 15 minAn Angolan chicken stew built on ground peanuts, palm oil, tomato and okra, simmered until nutty and rich and ladled over funge or rice.
Jollof RiceGreater Accra, Ghana · medium · 1 h 20 minLong-grain rice steamed in a reduced, deeply spiced tomato-and-pepper stew until every grain is stained red and the base lightly caramelises.
Caldo de MancarraBissau, Guinea-Bissau · medium · 1 h 15 minGuinea-Bissau’s beloved peanut stew: chicken browned and simmered in a creamy groundnut and tomato broth with sweet potato and okra, ladled over white rice.
Caldo de Mancarra Poulet à la MoambeBrazzaville, Republic of the Congo · medium · 1 h 20 minChicken braised low in a glossy, rust-red palm-nut sauce until tender and richly savoury, the national dish of the Congo, served with rice, plantains or fufu.
Poulet à la Moambe Poulet BicycletteOuagadougou, Burkina Faso · medium · 1 h 50 minLean free-range chicken parboiled with aromatics, then marinated in tomato, ginger and chili and grilled over charcoal until smoky.
Poulet Bicyclette Dovi (Chicken Peanut Stew)Harare, Zimbabwe · medium · 1 h 15 minChicken simmered in a velvety peanut butter and tomato sauce with greens, Zimbabwe's gentle, comforting Sunday stew.
Dovi (Chicken Peanut Stew) Canja de GalinhaSantiago (Praia), Cape Verde · easy · 1 h 15 minA thick, comforting Cape Verdean chicken and rice soup with carrot, potato and a bright squeeze of lime.
Canja de Galinha Pollo con Salsa de CacahueteMalabo, Equatorial Guinea · easy · 1 h 15 minChicken simmered in a rich peanut sauce with tomato, onion and garlic, a Central African groundnut stew from Equatorial Guinea.
Pollo con Salsa de Cacahuete Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken)Analamanga (Antananarivo), Madagascar · easy · 1 h 10 minChicken simmered in a spiced coconut sauce with tomato, ginger and saffron, a Malagasy dish beloved at Christmas.
Akoho sy Voanio (Coconut Chicken) Granat Stew (Groundnut Stew)Freetown, Sierra Leone · easy · 1 h 10 minA rich Freetown peanut stew of meat in a smooth groundnut and tomato sauce, ladled generously over rice.
Granat Stew (Groundnut Stew) Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth)Nouakchott, Mauritania · medium · 1 h 35 minCoarse hand-rolled millet couscous stirred into a paprika-stained chicken and bean broth until the grain drinks it up and thickens to a savoury porridge.
Aïch (Millet Couscous in Chicken and Bean Broth) Koklo MemeLomé, Togo · easy · 3 hCharcoal-grilled chicken marinated with ginger, garlic and chili, Togo's most famous dish, served with a fiery tomato-pepper sauce.
Nkuku (Village Chicken Stew)Lusaka, Zambia · easy · 1 h 15 minFree-range village chicken browned in its own fat and simmered in a simple tomato and onion gravy, served with nshima.
Nkuku (Village Chicken Stew) Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup)N'Djamena, Chad · easy · 1 h 20 minChicken simmered with onion, garlic, tomato, carrot, potato, green pepper and a little cardamom and chili into a light, fragrant broth, the soup of Chad's Ramadan table.
Chourba (Chadian Chicken and Vegetable Soup) Roz bel Shareya (Egyptian Vermicelli Rice)Cairo, Egypt · easy · 1 h 10 minFine vermicelli toasted golden in ghee, then cooked with short-grain Egyptian rice into a fluffy, buttery, nutty pilaf served with stews, kofta and roast chicken.
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