Muamba Chicken Stew
Black History Month Virtual Potluck 2023
In 2023, the theme of Black History Month is Black Resistance and Eat the Culture is recognizing the remarkable and, frankly, underrated resistance of our ancestors in bringing culinary traditions across the Atlantic to shape the vibrance of Black cuisine that we know and love today. They physically and mentally carried African foodways across the deadly Middle Passage to pass down through generations. This year’s Black History Month Virtual Potluck traces popular dishes of the Diaspora from their West African roots to North America and beyond. Share these recipes with your friends and loved ones and follow each participant by using the hashtag #BHMVP2023 on Instagram.
You can find the full list of recipes from this year’s collaboration on the Eat the Culture website.
Muamba chicken originated in Angola and has migrated with enslaved African people across the Caribbean, Central America, and the American South. This flavorful stewed chicken main dish combines spices and palm butter. With this recipe, I am teaching you how to make Muamba Chicken stew from Angola and encourage you to follow the story through other virtual potluck recipes like Poulet Creole from Haiti and Pollo Guisado from Puerto Rico.
Muamba Chicken also known as Muamba de Galina is Angola’s national dish. Angolan dishes have many Portuguese influences. Portuguese colonization of various lands and people created the colony of Angola. The Portuguese occupied the land that is now Angola for over 400 years. Angola was a Portugese colony until 1975 when Angola gained its in independence. The Portuguese influenced the use of olive oil and the peri-peri pepper in Angola.
The Story
Muamba Chicken is a chicken stew. With family and friends from the south, I’m used to a good stewed chicken. While still a chicken stew, Muambe Chicken is slightly different from the chicken stews I ate growing up. There are just those dishes that instantly take you back to a moment in time, Muamba Chicken is one of those dishes for me.
I remember taking a trip down south. That trip was memorable because it was the first time I saw my great aunt, my grandmother’s sister, go get a chicken from the yard, pluck the feathers, and that was dinner for the night. Though I was born in New York my grandmother who lived with us was a South Carolinian. She would work most days but on those off days, usually, a Sunday, she was in the kitchen. On Sundays, dinner would be started before I could even open my eyes. One of the dishes my grandmother would always cook was stewed chicken. That tender chicken falling off the bone was a treat. Comfort food always brings up feelings of nostalgia. Needless to say I was drawn to Muamba Chicken stew.
The Ingredients
Muamba Chicken stew is a tomatoey, garlicky chicken stew. Fairly simple ingredients come together to create a flavor-filled one-pot dish. The recipe calls for chicken, palm oil, garlic, onions, tomatoes, and pumpkin, spiced and seasoned to perfection.
I used palm oil in my recipe. I have seen variations of the recipe using palm cream and palm butter. I found the palm oil at my local African market. In terms of vegetables, I chose to go with frozen okra, pumpkin, and red cherry peppers. For a bit of spice, the peri-peri pepper is used in traditional Angolan dishes. I tried a variety of peppers but ultimately went with the red cherry pepper which gave nice spice, when the seeds are added, and sweetness. For my palette two peppers gave the stew heavy medium spice. If you prefer less spice, use less peppers, discard the seeds, or eliminate the peppers. Okra serves as a nice thickener for soups and stews. In addition to the palm oil, I located nice large slices of pumpkin at the African market. If pumpkin is not available butternut squash or acorn squash are good alternative options.
Muamba Chicken stew can be eaten alone but is traditionally served with funge. Funge can be made by adding cassava or corn flour to boiling water and stirring until you reach the right consistency. I steamed some cassava to enjoy with my Muamba Chicken, but white rice would also work just as well.
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse and clean 2 ½ pounds of chicken. After rinsing with cold water, I clean my chicken by rubbing all pieces of chicken with half a lemon.
- Sprinkle and rub into the chicken 3 Tbsp fine sea salt (I use Pink Himalayan), ½ Tsp of black pepper, and ½ Tsp of garlic powder.
- Marinade your chicken for 15 minutes at least, overnight is fine also.
- While the chicken is marinating, chop 1 small onion, 2 small tomatoes, slice 2 red cherry peppers with seeds, slice 2 cloves of garlic, and pull the leaves from a sprig of thyme.
- Heat a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat.
- Add in 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
- Once the oil is warm, add in the chicken and brown each side, for about 10 minutes.
- Leaving the pot on, take the chicken out and set it aside.
- Add 1 ½ Tbsp of palm oil to the pot and stir.
- Add in the chopped onion, 2 bullion cubes, sliced red cherry peppers, 2 Tbsp of tomato paste, 2 chopped tomatoes, 2 Tbsp of peanut butter, 2 cloves of sliced garlic, and thyme.
- Stir, scraping the bottom, drop in the 3 bay leaves and continue to simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes.
- While the stew is simmering, dice 2 C of pumpkin.
- After 10 minutes, add the chicken back to the pot and the pumpkin.
- Pour in three cups of water, or enough to cover the chicken.
- Simmer for 20 minutes covered on medium-low.
- Taste and add additional seasonings if necessary. (I added another ¼ Tsp of salt and ½ Tsp of garlic powder here, I am a garlic fan.)
- Pour in 1 C of okra.
- Simmer for another 20 minutes covered on medium-low.
- Enjoy your Muamba Chicken stew!
Discover more from Flights and Foods
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
5,672 Comments
Mestre de cerimônias em São Paulo
Good ?V I should definitely pronounce, impressed with your web site. I had no trouble navigating through all tabs and related information ended up being truly easy to do to access. I recently found what I hoped for before you know it in the least. Reasonably unusual. Is likely to appreciate it for those who add forums or something, site theme . a tones way for your customer to communicate. Excellent task..
Prodentim Reviews
I do believe all of the concepts you have offered for your post. They’re very convincing and will certainly work. Still, the posts are too brief for novices. May you please prolong them a bit from subsequent time? Thanks for the post.
Lotto Champ
F*ckin’ awesome things here. I’m very glad to see your post. Thanks a lot and i am looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a mail?
Kol3ktor :)
Your words feel like they’ve been chosen with the utmost care — each one placed to guide us towards greater understanding.
Glyco Shield
Great write-up, I am regular visitor of one’s web site, maintain up the nice operate, and It’s going to be a regular visitor for a lengthy time.
PrimeBiome
Perfect piece of work you have done, this website is really cool with fantastic info .
Gold Card TV
I truly wanted to write a brief note in order to appreciate you for the precious concepts you are posting on this website. My considerable internet investigation has now been paid with wonderful facts and techniques to talk about with my two friends. I would say that many of us site visitors are undoubtedly blessed to exist in a fine place with many brilliant professionals with great strategies. I feel rather blessed to have come across your entire site and look forward to some more excellent moments reading here. Thank you once again for everything.
Gadai BPKB Motor Medan
I’ve been exploring for a little bit for any high quality articles or blog posts on this sort of area . Exploring in Yahoo I at last stumbled upon this website. Studying this info So i’m happy to express that I have an incredibly excellent uncanny feeling I found out just what I needed. I most indubitably will make sure to don’t omit this website and give it a glance on a continuing basis.
Desentupidora de Vaso Sanitário em São Luís
Wow, awesome blog layout! How long have you been blogging for? you make blogging glance easy. The whole glance of your website is wonderful, as well as the content material!
slot demo mahjong
Very interesting details you have observed, appreciate it for putting up.
Desentupidora Vila Rui Barbosa SP
After study a few of the blog posts on your website now, and I truly like your way of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website list and will be checking back soon. Pls check out my web site as well and let me know what you think.
Visualizações ao vivo Instagram
Compre visualizações e espectadores reais para suas lives no YouTube, Instagram, Twitch, TikTok e Facebook. Aumente seu engajamento e credibilidade online com serviços seguros e confiáveis. Impulsione suas transmissões ao vivo hoje!
pobreflix
I have not checked in here for some time because I thought it was getting boring, but the last few posts are great quality so I guess I will add you back to my everyday bloglist. You deserve it my friend 🙂
iptv lista teste
Great post, you have pointed out some fantastic details , I also conceive this s a very excellent website.
jual pipa seamless
Excellent web site. A lot of helpful info here. I’m sending it to some friends ans additionally sharing in delicious. And naturally, thanks in your effort!
Jaecoo surabaya
Hi there, I found your website via Google while looking for a similar topic, your site got here up, it seems good. I’ve bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
rajabotak
Loving the information on this site, you have done great job on the posts.
login vegas108
Thank you, I’ve recently been looking for information about this topic for ages and yours is the greatest I have discovered so far. But, what about the bottom line? Are you sure about the source?
Mango Live Diamonds Recharge
I love your writing style really loving this internet site.
GlycoShield
Please let me know if you’re looking for a writer for your weblog. You have some really good articles and I think I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some content for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please shoot me an email if interested. Many thanks!