Angola - Chicken Stew

Angolan food is an interesting blend of African and Portuguese cuisines. This week I cooked Angola’s national dish: Muamba de Galinha, which is a traditional chicken stew.

Angola is an oil-rich country situated in Southern Africa. Angola has a broad variety of landscapes, including a semi-desert, an arid coastal lowland, a rainforest interior, and rugged highlands.

Angola was the last African country to gain independence from Portugal (1975). The mixture of Portuguese and African culture has made urban Angola more like a Latin American than other African countries. Their annual Carnival festival is similar to the Brazilian carnival. Additionally, Brazilian and Angolan music are similar. Both Brazilian ‘Samba’ and Angolan ‘Semba’ are thought to have originated in Angola. You can listen to some Angolan Semba here:

Semba was created by Angolan slaves. The subject matter of Semba is often a cautionary tale and the songs have been shaped by the tumultuous political history of Angola. Despite its sad history, Semba can convey a broad spectrum of emotions and it is often very witty. Therefore, Semba is present at both Angolan parties and funerals.

The Portuguese colonisation also influenced Angola’s cuisine. For example, typical Portuguese spices are mixed with local ingredients to make exciting culinary infusions. Angolan meals typically include fish or meat stewed in a rich sauce with vegetables and served with rice or funge.

However, finding Angolan recipes this week was a little difficult. Googling returned limited results. Predominately they were recipes explaining how to make ‘funge’ (an Angolan staple of cornflour and water), or stews which primarily used palm oil.

Before starting this cooking challenge I knew that I didn’t want to use any palm oil in my cooking. While I know that some countries’ cuisines, Angola included, rely heavily on palm oil I decided that I would make slightly less authentic meals than cook with palm oil.

Palm oil plantations threaten the habits of several endangered species such as orangutans, elephants and tigers. Additionally, the plantations have shown to make a sizable contribution to climate change, through air, soil and water pollution and soil erosion. You can read more about it at: http://www.wwf.org.au/what-we-do/food/palm-oil

Eventually, I went old school and found a recipe book in the library! The book explained that peanut oil with 2 tsp of paprika is a common alternative for palm oil in Angola.

Muamba de Galinha (Chicken Stew)

Ingredients:

• 1kg chicken (cut into pieces)
• 3 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
• Salt and chilli powder to taste
• 1 cup peanut oil
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 3 onions (diced)
• 1 fresh chilli (seeds removed and diced)
• 3 tomatoes (quartered)
• ½ butternut pumpkin (deseeded and cut into small pieces)
• ½ eggplant (cut into pieces)
• Handful of green beans (halved)
• 1 cup stock 

Marinate 1kg of chicken in 3 Tbs lemon juice, 1 crushed garlic clove, and salt & chilli powder for 1 hour. 

Heat 1 cup of peanut oil and 2 tsp smoked paprika in a large frypan. Add chicken and brown on all sides. 

Add onions, 1 crushed garlic clove, fresh chilli, and tomatoes. Cover and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes or til chicken is tender, stirring occasionally. 

Add 1 cup stock, pumpkin, eggplant, and green beans, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

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I served our Muamba de Galinha with rice and it would probably serve 5-6 people.

This meal was a beautiful warm stew that reminded me a little of apricot chicken. The chicken was delicious and tender, and the sauce had a subtle sweet flavour. Peter said that it was juicy and tasteful.

I would definitely make this again! 191 to go. Next stop on my world tour: Antigua and Barbuda!

Note: The original recipe for this meal included okra (which I couldn't find) so instead I used eggplant and beans. Here is how you make it with okra:
- Cut 12 small okra into 1/4 inch pieces
- Add the okra to the stew when you add the pumpkin