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Winter 2015

Recipes

Cameroonian national cuisine - chicken and carrots in bowl

DG Chicken is a typical Cameroonian dish. It's a fried chicken stew mixed with fried plantain and vegetables (carrots, peppers, green beans, etc.). It is a simple, but very delicious dish requiring few exotic ingredients.

The acronym "DG" stands for "Directeur Général". It bears this name because it was originally reserved for people of a certain social class or very important guests. Today, it is a meal that has been totally democratized, especially since the ingredients used in its composition are accessible to all.

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Serves: 5-6 persons

Ingredients

  • 1 whole chicken cut in pieces
  • 5 medium ripe plantains
  • 2 onions chopped
  • ½ tbsp of fresh or dried ginger
  • 2 celery sticks
  • 4 cloves of garlic minced
  • 769 ml of fresh or canned diced tomato
  • 1 ½ cups of carrots cut in coins
  • ½ cup green bell pepper sliced into strips
  • ½ cup red bell pepper sliced into strips
  • 1 cup of chopped green beans
  • ½ tsp white pepper
  • 1 tsp salt to taste
  • 2/3 cup + 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil

Instructions

  1. Blend celery, half an onion, white pepper, ginger, salt and chilli.
  2. Marinate the chicken with half of the mixture for 30 minutes; set aside the other half.
  3. While the chicken is marinating, peel and cut the plantains into 1 cm thick coins.
  4. Heat 2 tbsp oil and fry the plantain until golden brown on both sides; remove plantain with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  5. In the same oil, fry the chicken until fully browned.
  6. In another saucepan, heat 2/3 cup of oil and sauté the remaining onion until it becomes translucent. Add in garlic, tomatoes and the rest of the marinade. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
  7. Add the chicken, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
  8. After 10 minutes, add all the vegetables and the fried plantains. Give it a gentle stir to allow plantains and vegetables to absorb a little bit of the sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes.
  9. Finally, serve and enjoy!

Note: Any part of the chicken can be used for this recipe. The vegetables can be cut in any shape. Be sure not to use over ripe plantains as they will absorb too much oil and turn dark when frying.