Braised Chicken with Tomatoes and Peanuts (Congolese Poulet à la Moambé)

congolese-pouletalamoambe Moambe Chicken is a delightfully tasty chicken dish native to Central Africa. Also called 'Poulet Moambe', this savoury dish is deemed the national dish of both Congos - The Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Interestingly, Moambe chicken is also considered the national dish of Angola (Moamba de Galinha) and Gabon (Poulet Nyembwe). It is also a household name in Belgium. Enjoy this dish with some Congo Rice and Fried Plantains for an authentic Congolese meal. Poulet à la Moambé, or chicken in red palm oil, is popular across central Africa and Gabon has a very similar national dish called Poulet Nyembwe. Moambé and Nyembwe both mean "palm butter". Red palm butter is made from the ripe red fruit which surrounds the seed of the African oil palm.

2 lbs chicken drumsticks
½ onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup tomato sauce
3 Tbsp. peanut butter substitute with palm nut concentrate
½ cup palm or extra-virgin olive oil, for frying
½ tsp. ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp. bouillon powder
½ tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. ground paprika

Garnish:
red pepper flakes

Wash and pat dry the chicken drumsticks.

Add palm oil or olive oil to a large pan and brown the chicken on both sides.

Chop onions, mince garlic and set aside. Sauté onions and garlic in palm or olive oil.

Add tomato sauce, cayenne pepper, bouillon, paprika and salt. Add the chicken and stir. Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. Add a little water if it's getting dry.

Take out the chicken and add peanut butter to the sauce. Stir till the peanut butter is well mixed in. Add the chicken and simmer for 5-10 minutes on low heat.

Makes 6 servings.

Cook's Notes:

If you prefer not to fry the chicken in oil, you can use an air-fryer instead or bake it in an oven.
If you're a fan of spicy food like I am, you can add a habanero pepper while cooking. Skip the pepper altogether if you don't like spicy food.