Kedjenou

chicken and vegetables sealed in a clay pot and shaken rather than stirred, cooked in nothing but the liquid they give up

Origin: Abidjan & Côte d'Ivoire

From the journey of Tomato.

Kedjenou is defined by an absence: no water and no oil go into the pot. Chicken, tomato, onion, aubergine, and chilli are sealed into an earthenware canari, the lid luted shut, and the whole thing set in embers or a low oven. Everything cooks in the moisture the vegetables release, and the tomato is the engine of it. Over an hour the tomatoes collapse entirely into a concentrated sauce that has never been diluted, which is why the dish tastes more intensely of itself than a stew of the same ingredients ever could. The name comes from the Baoulé and refers to shaking. The pot is never opened and never stirred; instead it is lifted and shaken periodically to move the contents and stop them catching. Opening it lets out the steam that is doing the cooking, so the discipline is enforced by the method rather than by tradition alone. It is the ceremonial dish of Côte d'Ivoire, cooked for guests and for celebrations, and it is properly made with guinea fowl rather than chicken. Palm wine is sometimes added, which is a regional and household variation rather than a fixed part of the recipe. It is served with attiéké, the fermented cassava couscous that is the country's everyday staple.

Ingredients

1.2 kg guinea fowl or chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
6 ripe tomatoes, quartered
2 large onions, thickly sliced
3 small African aubergines or 1 regular aubergine, in chunks
6 garlic cloves, crushed
1 large thumb of ginger, sliced
2 scotch bonnet chillies, whole
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
100 ml palm wine or dry white wine (optional)

Method

Put every ingredient into a heavy casserole or clay pot and turn it all together with your hands until the chicken is coated. Add no water and no oil.
Seal the pot. If the lid is not tight, lay a sheet of foil or a strip of flour-and-water paste under it. The seal is the recipe.
Set over a very low heat on the hob, or in an oven at 160°C.
After ten minutes the vegetables will have started to release their liquid. From here, every fifteen minutes, lift the pot with both hands and shake it firmly to redistribute the contents. Do not lift the lid.
Cook for one hour and fifteen minutes in total. The chicken should be falling from the bone and sitting in a thick, dark, concentrated sauce.
Open the pot at the table. Lift out the chillies, or crush one into the sauce for heat. Taste for salt.
Serve with attiéké, or with plain rice.

Notes

Resisting the urge to look is the whole discipline, and each opening costs steam the dish needs. Use ripe tomatoes and do not be tempted to add liquid at the start even if it looks dry; within ten minutes it will not be. If at the end the sauce is thinner than you want, finish it uncovered for five minutes. Guinea fowl is the traditional bird and has a firmer, gamier flesh that suits the long sealed cook better than chicken does.

The Gastrographer

Name: Kedjenou
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Total time: 1 h 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Abidjan & Côte d'Ivoire
Ingredients: 1.2 kg guinea fowl or chicken, jointed into 8 pieces; 6 ripe tomatoes, quartered; 2 large onions, thickly sliced; 3 small African aubergines or 1 regular aubergine, in chunks; 6 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 large thumb of ginger, sliced; 2 scotch bonnet chillies, whole; 2 bay leaves; 1 tsp dried thyme; 2 tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 100 ml palm wine or dry white wine (optional)

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Journey Point Map Key

Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control