Kedjenou de poulet (kedjenou chicken) is a popular chicken stew from Cote’d Ivoire. The chicken is cooked in its juice with vegetables and aromatics in an earthen (terracotta) pot called canari. This Ivoirian chicken stew is very nutritious and easy to prepare (just throw all the ingredients into the pot). It is usually served with attieke (fermented grated cassava) but can also be eaten with rice.
Traditionally, the canari is placed over a wood fire and covered with banana leaves to keep the steam, while the kedjenou chicken cooks slowly. The result is a delicious stew with concentrated flavours and soft meat that falls off the bones. During the cooking process, the canari is shaken regularly to stop the food from sticking to the bottom of the pot. This is where kedjenou gets its name – it means “to shake” in Baolue, a local language in Cote d’Ivoire.
For people who do not have access to the canari, a dutch oven, slow cooker or a pot with a tight lid will work for kedjenou chicken.
How to Make Kedjenou Chicken
Here are the ingredients you need...
- Chicken thighs
- Eggplant
- Onion
- Garlic
- Spring onions
- Scotch bonnet peppers
- Tomatoes
- Green pepper
- Red pepper
- Ginger
- Bay leaf
- Sunflower oil
- Bouillon cubes
- Thyme
- Salt
Notes about the ingredients...
- Vegetables: Kedjenou is made up of chopped vegetables and meats. Apart from the peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, other vegetables you can add to kedjenou include okra, potatoes, carrots etc.
- Meat/Fish: Asides from chicken, you can cook fish and other meats by this traditional method. Guinea hen and fish kedjenou are quite common. I have also seen recipes for lamb, snail (kedjenou de escargot) and rabbit (Kedjenou de lapin) kedjenou. Therefore you can substitute the chicken for other meats in this recipe.
How To Make It...
Wash all the vegetables. Peel the onion and garlic and remove the stalk from the peppers. Chop the garlic and grate the ginger.
Chop the eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and spring onions.
Arrange the chicken pieces at the bottom of the casserole pan. Layer the chopped garlic, onions and vegetables over the chicken. Add the thyme sprigs, scotch bonnet peppers, bay leaves oil, bouillon cubes and a little salt.
Cover the pan and leave on medium heat for 10 mins. Then reduce the heat and leave to cook for 45 mins, shaking the pan a few times. Open and taste for salt, add more if needed, then cover the pan and cook for 10 more minutes. Remove from heat.
Related Recipes
Other stews to try;
Specialty Tool
Pull Chopper: For quick chopping of the ingredients.
Cote d' Ivoire Kedjenou Chicken Stew
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken thighs
- 1 Eggplant small
- 1 Onion
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 4 Spring onions
- 2 Scotch bonnet peppers
- 3 Tomatoes
- 1 Green pepper
- 1 Red pepper
- 1 teaspoon Grated ginger
- 2 Bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Groundnut oil
- 2 Bouillon cubes
- Thyme
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash all the vegetables. Peel the onion and garlic and remove the stalk from the peppers. Chop the garlic and grate the ginger.
- Chop the eggplant, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and spring onions.
- Arrange the chicken pieces at the bottom of the casserole pan. Layer the chopped garlic, onion and vegetables over the chicken. Add the thyme sprigs, scotch bonnet peppers, bay leaves oil, bouillon cubes and a little salt.
- Cover the pan and leave on medium heat for 10 mins. Then reduce the heat and leave to cook for 45 mins, shaking the pan a few times. Open and taste for salt, add more if needed, then cover the pan and cook for 10 more minutes.
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