Poulet de Comores (Comorian Chicken)

Ingredients:

1 large chicken (with giblets) cut into serving pieces
1 400ml tin coconut milk
2 onions, finely sliced
600g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
500g carrots, peeled and diced
1 bouquet garni
3 tbsp chopped parsley
200g grated coconut
5 pinches freshly-grated nutmeg
100g freshly-grated ginger
500ml nyembwe sauce (palm butter or palm soup base)
salt and black pepper to taste

Method:

Add oil to a pot and fry the chicken pieces until golden. Remove and set aside then fry the onions until lightly golden. Remove and reserve. Add the chicken offal to the pot and fry for a minute then add 700ml water and bring to a boil. Allow to cook for 20 minutes then remove the offal and chop. Add the offal to a casserole dish along with the fried chicken, onions, bouquet garni and the grated ginger. Season with salt and pepper, add 6 tbsp water and allow to simmer very gently for 10 minutes (add more water as necessary). Add the coconut milk (reserve 100ml) and allow to simmer for half an hour.

Meanwhile place the carrots and sweet potatoes in salted water, bring to a boil and cook for 30 minutes. Pass them through a sieve to form a paste then mix-in the remaining coconut milk and season with the nutmeg. Mix in the grated coconut and set aside in a warm place. Add the nyembwe to to the casserole and cook for a further 5 minutes. Arrange the carrot and sweet potato mixture on a serving plate and spoon the chicken and some of the cooking stock over the top. Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.