13,000 Naira

Nigerian chicken stew is a Sunday Delight! Served with steaming white rice and  maybe some fried plantains is a sure ticket to food Heaven. Chicken stew is thick, hearty and made with Fresh Tomatoes, Tomato paste, Red bell peppers, Onions, and Garlic. It can be made with whole live chicken or frozen chicken thighs usually sold in kilos at the market. There are other variations like Nigerian Fish Stew and Nigerian Beef Stew but Here’s a simple and quick to make Nigerian Chicken Stew Recipe.

Ready in 90 minutes

Serves 7 people

1280 calories 

Ingredients

• Whole Live Chicken- Old Layer (7500 naira)
• Fresh Peppers and Tomatoes (1500 naira)
• 2 big Onions (400 naira)
• 750ml of Power Vegetable oil- For Frying Chicken and Stew (2500 naira)
• 1 Packet of Benny Chicken Seasoning (200 naira)
• Ground Crayfish (100 naira)
• Garlic Cloves and Ginger ( 300 naira)
• Thyme and Curry Powder (200 naira)
• 2 Bay Leaves (100 naira)
• Dry Shallots (100 naira) 
• 4 Chicken seasoning cubes (200 naira)
• Salt to taste

Preparation

• Start by washing your Chicken. I like to go in with lime slices to properly clean my chicken.

• After washing, season with 2 Chicken seasoning cubes, a spoonful of Curry and Thyme, Bay leaves, minced garlic and ginger, chopped onions, dried shallots, Benny seasoning, and salt to taste.

• Place the Chicken to cook on low heat so it can stew in its own juices without adding water and allow it to steam for 15 minutes.

• After 15 minutes, add enough water to cover the chicken then boil till tender on medium heat. When the chicken is ready, deep fry in some hot oil until they are golden brown and crispy.

• I can not eat chicken in stew unless it is fried, but if you prefer them just boiled, then skip this step.
• Before we prepare the stew, if you like boiled eggs in your stew, do well to cook and peel them before making the stew so you can add them with the tomato sauce, this ensures that the tomato juice soaks into the egg adequately. If you are Nigerian, you already know what I’m talking about.
• Let’s prepare the stew. Start off by blending the tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and ginger. Then cook the blended mixture in a pot until all the water has evaporated and it forms a thick paste. 

• If you are like me and you fried your Chicken, strain the Oil you used to remove any chicken bits and place it into a large saucepan and place on medium heat, you need about a cup full. When the Oil is hot, throw in chopped Onions and ground crayfish, sauté till fragrant.

• Next, add in the blended Pepper mix, 2 seasoning cubes, 1 Teaspoon Curry powder, Thyme and Salt to taste,  fry until the pepper mix loses its sournes and the oil starts to flow to the top.

• Now, add the Chicken Stock and the fried Chicken, stir and combine.

• Turn the heat down to low, allow to simmer for 10 minutes and your Nigerian Chicken Stew is ready.

Tips

Nigerian Chicken Stew is the ultimate Nigerian dish that pairs with a long list of other meals. It’s a constant in the Nigerian household and its no surprise why! There are many variation of the Nigerian stew like the Fish Stew and Beef Stew versions. Be sure to try our recipe when next you make Nigerian Chicken Stew