Côte d'Ivoire

Kejenou


I made this meal on Wednesday, July 13 for my younger sister Sarah and me.  It is the national dish of Côte d'Ivoire, or Ivory Coast, in Africa.  On the website from which I got the recipe, it is described as "traditional Ivorian (from Côte d'Ivoire) recipe for a one-pot dish of chicken and prawns with rice in a chilli, tomato and white wine sauce."  We loved it.


I made a few changes to the recipe: I cut the chicken into chunks, which I'm thinking may be the reason that the chicken was so unbelievably, scrumptiously tender.  I also used three jalapeños instead of two habaneros because Cub was out of habaneros when I went shopping.  I used large shrimp instead of prawns because Coastal Seafoods didn't have any prawns, and, finally, when the recipe said to cook for 35 minutes, I opted to cover the pan to help the rice steam.  These changes rendered a sumptuous meal, which had spices that reminded me of Indian food and the dishes I made for Afghanistan and Bangladesh.  There must be some Asian influences in Côte d'Ivoire.


Kejenou

INGREDIENTS:
-4 chicken breast halves, cut into chunks
-6 large prawns, peeled
-2 tsp. salt
-7 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp. paprika
-2 T. olive oil
-2 onions, diced
-4 large tomatoes, pureed
-1 T. tomato paste
-1/2 c. water
-2 habanero peppers (I used three jalapeños), diced
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1 tsp. nutmeg
-1 tsp. turmeric
-1 1/2 c. long grain rice
-3 c. chicken stock
-1 c. white wine
-chopped parsley (which I forgot to use)


DIRECTIONS:
1) Marinate chicken and prawns in salt, 1 clove garlic and paprika for two hours.
2) Fry onions and garlic in olive oil in a large pan until softened.
3) Add chicken, tomatoes, tomato paste, peppers and spices.  Cook for 5 minutes.
4) Add rice, chicken stock and wine.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 35 minutes.
5) Add prawns and cook until they turn pink.  
6) (Garnish with parsley) and serve immediately.

Bringing to a boil

All cooked in the pan