Palm oil

It is a vegetable oil obtained from the fruit of the African palm.
This palm is native to southwestern Africa, between Angola and Gambia.

This type of oil was first obtained 3600 years ago, it was used especially in Western Guinea from where it came to America, later on this oil arrived in China from America.

Nowadays the largest palm oil production is centered in countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Thailand, Colombia, New Guinea, Ivory Coast, Costa Rica, Honduras, Brazil and Guatemala.

It is a natural source of Vitamin A and Vitamin E, nevertheless, due to its high saturated fat content, it has negative consequences to human health ,since a long and abundant consumption of palm oil can raise the ratio of LDL cholesterol in the blood.

Its flavour is stronger than olive oil's, but gives the dishes a distinctive flavour and color the sauces, I strongly believe that you should not avoid using this oil if the original recipe includes this ingredient , that's the only way to know the real flavor of the dish!

Where to Buy Palm Oil in Madrid:

Near Metro Lavapies , you can find the Miguel Servet Street where there are a lot of multicultural food stores selling this kind of oil.

If you come from a different place and know where to find palm oil in your zone, please leave a comment telling us, this way other readers will have more possibilities to find this ingredient!
 

Muamba de Galinha (Chicken Stew)



Muamba de Galinha

Muamba de Galinha is a traditional dish in Angola, it is related to the Poulet moambe the Congo River region.

Muamba de Galinha is made with chicken, onion, palm oil or muamba of dendem, garlic, okra and a type of Angolan chilli called gindungo. (I Will substitute it for chilli peppers).

Ingredients:

• A chicken, cut into serving pieces.
• Juice of one lemon (optional).
• One cup (100 ml) of red palm oil (or a mixture of palm oil and other cooking oil).
• 2 or 3 chopped onions.
• Two cloves of garlic chopped.
• A chilli pepper (or guindungo) removed entirely after cooking for a slightly spicy dish, or cut without the seeds for a spicy dish.
• 3 tomatoes (peeled if desired) cut into quarters.
• 300 g of chopped pumpkin.
• One or two dozen Okra , washed and with the ends cut. We can use them whole, cut lengthwise in half or into pieces depending on the effect we want to give to the dish. Okra makes a gelatinous dish,the more cut into pieces the greater is the gelatinous effect.I decided to cut  them lengthwise in half (see picture below).
•  Salt to taste.

Where to buy the ingredients:

The hardest to find are the okra and palm oil.I bought both in Lavapies, near the metro in Miguel Servet  Street where you can find multicultural food stores.

Method:

1. If you want ,you can marinate the chicken, you should rub the chicken with a mixture of lemon juice, garlic, chillies and salt. We leave it like that for one hour (we can leave for 15 minutes to one hour, as we prefer).

 

2.   We put the palm oil in a large pot and place it over medium heat, then we add the chicken and cook it just a little without allowing it to be done.

3.  Next add the onion, garlic, chilli, tomato and salt. After five minutes pour water to cover the chicken.

4.  Stir occasionally and cook over medium heat for one hour, until chicken is almost done.

5. Add the pumpkin and a little water if you see that there is little into the pot, cook until chicken is completely done.

6. Now is time to add the okra, stir, and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes until the okra is tender.

The most traditional accompaniment to Muamba de Galinha is Funge that can be made ​​with corn or cassava flour.

You can also serve it with rice instead of Funge.

My comments to the recipe:

I must confess that I was afraid for the outcome of the recipe, I had not tried palm oil until now. Palm oil has a strong test to which we are not use in Europe, but I must say that mixed with pumpkin and okra is quite enjoyable to eat.
I can say that I enjoyed trying this dish which allowed me to experiment  a new taste from the point of wiew of a European palate.

Angola