Benachin recipe

Wolof for "one pot": whole vegetables and meat are stewed in a tomato base, lifted out, and the rice is then cooked in the same sauce and served under them.

1 hour and 35 minutesmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 500 g broken rice
• 300 g cassava
• 6 bitter tomato
• 300 g cabbage
• 150 g okra
• 800 g chicken
• 2 onions
• 4 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper
• 4 clove garlic
• 60 ml vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt

How to make Benachin

1. Heat 60 ml of vegetable oil in one wide pot and brown 800 g of chicken pieces for 10 minutes, then set them aside. Everything that follows happens in this same pot.
2. Fry 2 chopped onions and 4 minced garlic cloves for 5 minutes, add 4 tbsp of tomato paste and cook it 5 minutes more until it darkens and the oil separates.
3. Pour in 1.5 L of water, return the chicken, add 1 whole scotch bonnet and 2 tsp of salt, and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Add the vegetables in large pieces: 300 g of cassava, 6 bitter tomatoes, a 150 g wedge of cabbage and 150 g of okra. Simmer 20 minutes until tender.
5. Lift out the chicken, the scotch bonnet and every piece of vegetable with a slotted spoon and keep them warm. They are served whole on top, not stirred in or diced.
6. Measure the remaining sauce to 700 ml, topping up with water if needed, stir in 500 g of rinsed broken rice, cover and cook 25 minutes on low until fully absorbed.
7. Pile the red rice on one large platter, arrange the chicken and vegetables over it, and serve from the same dish.

Get Copper on the App Store

More dishes from Gambia →