Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Amiwo
Cornmeal cooked directly in a spiced red tomato-and-pepper sauce, served with braised chicken.
Beninese · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 50 min
~618 cal · 53g protein · 49g carbs · 22g fat · 6g fiber · 6g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Amiwo is a distinctive cornmeal dish from Benin, where the maize porridge is cooked not in plain water but directly in a spiced red sauce of tomato, onion, and pepper, so the -like result is flavored and colored throughout rather than served plain. It is a clever, deeply savory take on West African staple starch.
The technique sets it apart from the many white maize porridges of the region: by simmering the cornmeal in the sauce itself, Beninese cooks infuse every bite with tomato and chili. It is typically served with or fried chicken and extra sauce on the side.
A staple of home cooking around Cotonou, amiwo is comforting, colorful, and satisfying, the kind of dish that turns humble maize into a full and flavorful meal. It reflects Benin's resourceful, sauce-forward approach to its everyday grains.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2.5 lb chicken pieces
2 cups white cornmeal (maize flour)
4 tomatoes
1 red pepper
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 onion
4 cloves garlic
1
1/4 cup red palm or vegetable oil
Instructions
1
Blend the tomatoes, pepper, onion, garlic, and Scotch bonnet into a sauce, then fry it down in the oil until thick and deep red.
2
Braise the chicken (or mushrooms and tofu) in half the sauce with a little water until cooked and glossy, then set aside.
3
Thin the remaining sauce with 3 cups water and bring to a simmer.
4
Rain in the cornmeal in a steady stream while stirring hard with a wooden spoon.
✎ Chef’s note
Add the cornmeal slowly while stirring constantly. Dumping it in at once makes lumps that are almost impossible to smooth out.
5
Keep stirring and cook 10 to 15 minutes, until the amiwo is stiff, smooth, and pulls from the sides of the pot.
6
Shape the red amiwo into mounds and serve with the braised chicken and its sauce.
Cotonou tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Cotonou. Akassa is fermented corn dough wrapped in leaves and eaten cool beside a sauce, and it is the everyday counterpart to amiwo's occasion. The city sits between the sea and a lagoon, so fish is either grilled whole on the sand or smoked and dropped into the sauces.
🗺️
Benin. Akassa is fermented before it is cooked: maize soaked and left to sour, ground, then boiled into a firm paste and wrapped in leaves to set, so it arrives faintly tangy rather than bland. It goes with a red sauce of tomato and palm oil, with grilled fish from the lagoons, and with the peanut and palm-nut stews shared across the coast.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Benin
AbloSoft, slightly sweet steamed rice-and-corn cakes eaten plain or with a spicy sauce for breakfast.
Wassa-WassaSteamed yam-flour couscous tossed with a spiced tomato and onion sauce, a northern Beninese lunch staple.
Yovo Doko (Sweet Fritters)Light, puffy sweet fried dough balls dusted with sugar, often called the national dessert of Benin.
Browse all Benin recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan, Blender.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Benin meal
TchoukoutouDrink
Yovo Doko (Sweet Fritters)Dessert
Wassa-WassaLunch
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Frequently asked questions
What is Amiwo?
Cornmeal cooked directly in a spiced red tomato-and-pepper sauce, served with braised chicken.
Where does Amiwo come from?
Amiwo is a Beninese dish from Cotonou, Benin.
Can Amiwo be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Amiwo recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Amiwo safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Amiwo take to make?
About 75 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 50 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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