African Chicken Muamba Recipe (Muamba de Galinha)
Angola’s national dish can be described as succulent chicken pieces in a peanut sauce. African peanut chicken stew is perfect for serving up for a crowd.
African Chicken Muamba
One of my fave, fave ingredients in savoury or sweet dishes is peanut butter. You’ll find it used quite often in recipes around this site, from my peanut butter choc chip cookies, vegan sweet potato peanut curry to my no-bake peanut butter balls and a peanut cake with caramel buttercream. I adore it! But this recipe has got to be my fave yet.
Inspired by an Angolan recipe
Peanut chicken stew was originally inspired by the Angolan recipe of chicken muamba. Situated in Southern Africa on the coast, Angola is a country heavily influenced by Portugal due becoming colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th Century. This has, as you can imagine, had a lasting affect on it’s food, culture and language.
Say NO to palm oil
The difference with my recipe and the Angolan dish of Chicken Muamba is that mine contains no palm oil. As you may know, palm oil production causes the deforestation of huge amounts of rainforests in South East Asia, Latin America and Africa. Unfortunately, palm oil is found in so many everyday products, from vegetable oil to margarine, candles, creams and soaps.
It’s worth looking into palm oil and what products you’ll find it in. I’ve only skimmed the surface with the research I’ve done so far but I plan to look into it more in the future to see what sort of changes I can make around the house. You could also check out the 28 day palm oil challenge as well as signing some of the petitions on the Say No To Palm Oil website, if you’d like to make a difference.
Timings
Prep Time
20 mins
Cooktime
1.5 hrs
Total time
1 hr 50 mins
Servings
2
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs or thighs (skin on)
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp olive oil + extra for frying
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper (you can omit this if making for non-spice lovers)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 chilli, diced (can also omit)
- A handful of chopped tomatoes (I used cherry toms)
- 200ml chicken stock
- 100g crunchy peanut butter
Make it in the slow-cooker
Peanut chicken stew is super easy to make and is perfect for leaving in the oven to cook slowly during the weekend or putting in the slow cooker for a yummy midweek meal. which only makes the chicken more succulent and juicy!
Equipment Needed
- Medium hob-safe casserole dish or deep frying pan with lid
- Medium-sized bowl
- Measuring spoons
- Spatula for frying
- A bowl or plate
- A jug
- A wooden spoon
The original recipes of chicken muamba don’t always include peanut butter but I saw that some add it, so I thought I would due to the fact I love the stuff. I’m glad I did as it helped thicken the sauce and made it extra tasty.
Recipe Variations
Can I use chicken breast instead?
Chicken breast is fine and you can follow the recipe as normal but you won’t get the same ‘falling off the bone’ from the meat. There is no bone! And that’s the delicious part. If you only have chicken breast though, that’s ok.
Is smooth peanut butter ok?
Of course. I used crunchy to add an extra bit of texture but smooth is good too!
Is African peanut chicken stew gluten-free?
Yes it technically is but you need to make sure you use gluten-free chicken stock.
Recipe Method
and rice.
Tips
To get a better browning on your chicken, I recommend frying in batches. If your pan is big enough though, fry altogether.
African Peanut Chicken Stew
Ingredients
- 6 chicken legs or thighs
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for frying
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tsp cayenne chilli powder optional
- 1 onion diced
- 1 chilli diced
- Handful cherry or buffalo tomatoes quartered
- 200 ml chicken stock
- 100 g crunchy peanut butter
- Handful fresh or dried thyme sprinkling
Instructions
- Place the chicken, lemon, spices and oil in a bowl to marinade for 10 minutes.
- Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a deep frying pan or casserole dish. When hot, fry the chicken until brown and set aside.
- Add one more tbsp of olive oil and fry the onions until soft. Add the garlic, chilli if using and the tomatoes. Fry for a few minutes until the tomatoes have softened. Add the chicken back in the pan.
- Pour in the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Add the peanut butter and stir in until combined. Cover with a lid and place in the oven to cook for 1.5 hours. When ready, sprinkle on some dried or fresh thyme and serve with rice.
Notes
Serving Suggestions
This African stew would go so well with my Algerian semolina bread to soak up all the peanut-y juices!
More midweek meals
- For something super easy and great for using pantry staples, my easy pantry-staples chilli using tinned soup and baked beans!
- This Catalan-style rigatoni stew is super comforting and hails from Andorra.
- To warm up on a winter’s eve, my Afghan lamb and spinach stew is perfect.
- Looking for something vegan, try my Afghan-inspired aubergine and kidney bean pasta. The roasted aubergines are divine!
- For a taste of the Caribbean, you’ll love my sweet potato and aubergine casserole.
