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
Amora Miura
I loved as much as you will receive carried out right here. The sketch is attractive, your authored material stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come more formerly again since exactly the same nearly very often inside case you shield this increase.
Audium Gota
you may have an awesome weblog right here! would you like to make some invite posts on my weblog?
Audium Gota Premium Funciona
It’s really a cool and useful piece of information. I’m satisfied that you just shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
LarryPhalf
замена венцов кемерово
Retinol 8 em 1
Great write-up, I¦m regular visitor of one¦s web site, maintain up the excellent operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
Retinol 8 em 1
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a really well written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I will certainly return.
xxx playlist
Hiya, I’m really glad I’ve found this information. Today bloggers publish just about gossips and web and this is actually frustrating. A good website with exciting content, that is what I need. Thank you for keeping this website, I’ll be visiting it. Do you do newsletters? Cant find it.
buy LSD online USA
Excellen beat ! I wߋuld ⅼike to apprentice ᴡhile you amend үⲟur web site, how
can i subscribe fⲟr a blog website? Ƭhe account aided me a acceptable deal.
Ι hаd bern ɑ little bit acquainted of this your
broadcast pгovided bright clｅar idea
Lоok at mу homepaցe; buy LSD online USA
techtunes auto
I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but good topic. I needs to spend some time learning more or understanding more. Thanks for magnificent information I was looking for this information for my mission.
hptoto
I have been surfing on-line more than 3 hours as of late, yet I never discovered any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty value sufficient for me. In my opinion, if all site owners and bloggers made just right content as you probably did, the net shall be much more useful than ever before.
Abstiny Funciona
I’ve learn a few good stuff here. Certainly value bookmarking for revisiting. I wonder how much attempt you place to make one of these excellent informative web site.
Abstiny
It’s really a great and useful piece of info. I’m glad that you shared this useful info with us. Please keep us up to date like this. Thanks for sharing.
car battery shop near me
I see something really special in this site.
mitsubishi surabaya
I got what you intend, regards for putting up.Woh I am thankful to find this website through google.
mitsubishi surabaya
I got good info from your blog
Regenere Drops
Nice post. I learn something tougher on totally different blogs everyday. It is going to all the time be stimulating to learn content material from different writers and follow slightly something from their store. I’d prefer to make use of some with the content on my blog whether you don’t mind. Natually I’ll give you a link in your web blog. Thanks for sharing.
how to
I was suggested this blog by my cousin. I’m not sure whether this post is written by him as nobody else know such detailed about my difficulty. You’re incredible! Thanks!
나트랑 에코걸
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You definitely know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your weblog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
癌症
I simply desired to thank you so much once again. I’m not certain what I would’ve taken care of in the absence of the strategies discussed by you on that area. Entirely was a hard circumstance in my view, however , finding out a skilled strategy you handled that forced me to weep over gladness. I will be thankful for this work as well as believe you know what an amazing job you happen to be putting in teaching others through the use of your blog. I know that you’ve never met all of us.
다낭 황제골프
I have been exploring for a little bit for any high-quality articles or weblog posts in this kind of area . Exploring in Yahoo I ultimately stumbled upon this website. Reading this info So i¦m satisfied to convey that I’ve a very just right uncanny feeling I came upon exactly what I needed. I such a lot certainly will make certain to do not fail to remember this web site and give it a look regularly.