Kedjenou de Poulet
Ivorian sealed-pot chicken: no water, no stirring — chicken and vegetables braise in their own juices in a covered clay pot, shaken periodically. Deeply concentrated.
- prep 15 min
- cook 50 min
- total 65 min
- serves 4
- easy
- Ivory Coast
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg chicken pieces
- 2 large onion
- 4 medium tomato
- 1 medium eggplant
- 150 g okra
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 whole scotch bonnet
- 2 whole bay leaf
- 3 sprigs thyme
- 45 ml vegetable oil
Steps
- Season chicken pieces with salt, pepper, and a little grated ginger.
- Layer chicken, sliced onion, chopped tomato, sliced eggplant, sliced okra, and a whole scotch bonnet into a heavy pot with a tight lid.
- Add bay leaves, thyme sprigs, minced garlic, and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil — NO water.
- Cover and cook over the lowest heat for 45 minutes.
- Do NOT open the lid.
- Instead, shake the pot vigorously every 10 minutes to redistribute.
- After 45 minutes, check that the chicken is tender and the vegetables have released enough juice to form a thick sauce.
- Remove the whole scotch bonnet; taste and adjust salt.
- Serve immediately with attiéké or steamed rice, spooning the concentrated sauce over.
Tips
- The no-water rule matters — vegetables release plenty; extra water dilutes the sauce.
- Shake, don't stir — opening the lid drops the pot temperature.
≈ 480 kcal · 42 g protein · 18 g carbs · 24 g fat — per serving, estimate