Liberia – Chicken Palava

by Verdzekov Bernard

There are varieties of traditional dishes consumed through out Africa. We have countries like Ghana, South African, Cameroon, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and many more African countries. The traditional dish you are about to know today is Palava sauce. This sauce is prepared with spinach and okra. But at times okra could be missing but not spinach. This is one of the main leaves used in the preparation this cuisine. This cuisine originates from Liberia and it valued by Africans.  

Ingredients

• Chicken
• Garlics (4)
• Butter
• Onions
• Groundnut oil 
• Tomatoes
• Thyme
• Peanut butter
• Ground ginger 
• Spinach
• Green chili pepper 
• Pumpkin seeds 
• Salt to taste 
• Maggi
• Pepper

Process

• Slice your chicken
• Put your ginger and mix in a bowl. Add your chicken and mix. 
• Put your butter in a pan. Turn on heat. Allow butter to melt. Add chicken and fry. keep aside.
• Slice your onions, tomatoes. Blend garlics.
• Stand pot on gas, add in groundnut oil, allow it to heat up, fry your onions and tomatoes.
• Reduce heat and add peanut butter and stir. Stir well. allow for about 2min.
• Add chicken stock. Stir well.
• Add in your garlics, thyme, chili pepper, ground ginger and stir well. stir well. Add your salt to taste and maggi. Allow for about 4min. 
• Add washed and sliced spinach leaves and stir well. Add your chicken stock and stir well. allow pot for about 5min. Add chicken and stir well. If soup too thick, add some water. Just a little. If to watery increase heat. Add pumpkin seeds and allow pot for 15-20min.

Serve with cooked fufu, garri or boiled white rice.