The mention of the African traditional chicken recipe makes my mouth watery because this is not your regular chicken but the ones we call kienyeji chicken.
It means indigenous chicken, and it’s way delicious and special in our culture. No matter where you go, though, if you grew up with these foods, you always want to return for them.
Although with the introduction of the broiler chicken, the indigenous ones are rare, I still must say those of us living in the country know the difference. Traditional chicken is just outrightly delicious, flavorful, and savory.
Chicken and culture
Traditionally chicken was a main meal at those main events. This is particularly along the Kenyan lakeside, where you find Luos and Luhya land. Whether it was the inlaws visiting, dowry payment, funerals, marriage, or building events, you always had chicken slaughtered.
Contrary to other places where they used goat meat a lot for these events, the chicken was a must-have for us. However, it’s not a major practice today; back in the day, men were the ones to enjoy chicken. Today women eat it too, but some parts, like the gizzard, still belong to the man of the house.
Mind you, even the killing of the chicken was left to the men. It’s a lot of interesting practices, I know.
How to cook traditional chicken
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The rich flavors make me want to cook this rich chicken every single time. There’s a difference between the indigenous African chicken and the new model type of chicken. We mostly stew it because it’s harder, but we also reach for the unique flavors and taste.
I like that this chicken doesn’t require you to do much on it. You can add onions and tomatoes and be done with it. Have you ever made this traditional chicken recipe?
Ingredients
- The whole chicken
- Ghee/ palm oil or vegetable oil
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Chicken cubes and other spices of choice
- Garlic
- Coriander
Method (9 steps of cooking traditional chicken recipe)
1. Slaughtering and dividing
So assuming the chicken is already slaughtered, now divide it into parts (thanks, mama, for teaching me this part). Clean it to remove excess blood and dirt, then set it in the saucepan.
2. Boiling
Add some water to boil because the indigenous chicken is often harder,r and we want to tenderize it. Some people may prefer to use the tenderizer, and of course, it still works, but I like to boil.
If you want, you can add shredded garlic and ginger to start the boiling process with it. I like to set mine to boil for about 30-45 minutes. I mean, we want to start adding the flavors from the get-go.
You check whether it’s ready after 30 minutes. My mama taught me that you should look at the drumstick part and if the meat part has moved up, leaving the bone part clear. This shows that it’s fully cooked.
3. Drain the excess water
If you have more water remaining as you boil, drain it and use it as chicken broth when cooking. You can use it in other recipes if it’s much more than you need.
4. Allow it to dry all the excess water
The next step is to drain the excess water and then allow it to cook in its fa,t or add a little bit of oil if it’s fatless. Usually, you don’t need to add oil because the chicken has rich fat. Traditionally though, we use the traditional ghee (Mor Alenya).
5. Add the onions
Then add your chopped onions to cook with it. Well, I know you said some when boiling it, but more onion never harms. If you want, you can use spring onions too. Give it about 3 minutes to cook fully. Now add the garlic cloves and ginger too.
Trust that the aroma in the house is so inviting at this point. Cover it to allow the fragrance fully out, thus meaning it’s receiving the content.
6. Add tomatoes
Now add your chopped or pureed tomatoes for the color and rich taste. Note that you are better off using ripe tomatoes, giving them even more flavor.
Let it cook down again, and then add any other vegetable remaining, like the bell peppers or the spring onions. Of course, this gives it an even richer taste.
7. Spice it up
Add in any spices you choose; if you want, you can leave them as it is; they will still be flavorful and rich. Traditionally we didn’t add spices, though I try to reduce the herbs too. But if you like chilies, you can add them here.
8. Add the broth
At this point, you can add the broth you have remaining. Then let it simmer with all the veggies. Give it about 10 minutes to cook fully.
9. It’s done
It’s ready now, and that is the stewing method. But wait till you taste it with your favorite side dish. Traditionally we served this with ugali, but you can use it with rice chapati, potatoes, and other veggies.
The boiling method
Another traditional method that we use to make chicken is the boiling method. This is one of the easiest and maybe even the healthiest because you don’t have to do much to it.
Just take the chicken and clean it. When done then, you can set it in the pot or saucepan.
Add the salt and other veggies you choose, like onions, tomatoes, garlic, and ginger. Remember to use the spring onions for the richer flavors.
Then you can add in the water to get it cooking.
For this, you should allow it to cook for 45mins to 1hr.
Here you have it ready to eat alongside the other veggies and carbs.
It’s ideal for those who don’t want to add anything to the chicken, especially those with doctors’ orders to keep off complex food.
Note
Note that when making this meal, we focused on how we make it in the western Kenya region. We never used spices and herbs like ginger and garlic traditionally. So, I modified the one I made here into a modern chicken style by adding a few spices.
This is not to say that the traditional chicken in the village isn’t delicious; I also love it because it’s rich and perfect, just as it is.
So whether you choose to use garlic and other spices is a non-issue because this kind of chicken is naturally rich and tasty.
FAQs
Did you use oil traditionally to make this?
No, we didn’t. We used ghee instead,d and of course, this means an even richer flavor. Unfortunately, today you will not find the ghee easily, and I mean the traditional ghee(mor alenya). I know you can have it in the shop,s but it’s not the same as the traditional ones.
Where is this recipe from?
This kind of chicken is common in East Africa. This is how Luos made chicken, but it’s also common among the Luhyas.
Can I make it on a regular day?
Of course, why not? We used to like making it for major cultural events back in the day, but today you can make it anytime you want. Nonetheless, we still hold this kind of chicken in high esteem because it’s indigenous and way tastier than the broiler version.
Can I bake this chicken?
Of course, you can remember to marinate it with the tenderizer. The major challenge with this chicken is that it’s usually harder. It takes longer to tenderize, and when you figure out a way, you’re good to go.
In a nutshell
We still hold the indigenous chicken in high esteem across Africa. Here is the easiest traditional chicken recipe that you can also try. One thing to note is that the chicken is versatile, and you can cook it differently to suit your taste buds.
Trust me, tried this out and loved it. The traditional chicken recipe is just amazing and 😋😋😋
Of course, I’m happy you enjoyed it. Thank you