Namibian Entree
CURRY CHICKEN POTJIEKOS
INGREDIENTS
2 garlic cloves
2 onions
2″ ginger root
3 pounds chicken, breast, thighs, or drumsticks
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
½ tablespoon turmeric
2½ cups chicken stock
3 carrots
1 pound potatoes
1 bay leaf
SPECIAL UTENSILS (If difficult conditions are met)
potjie: this is a cast-iron pot with three legs and is the authentic for this dish. Order it online.
hot coals: The potjie’s contents are cooked over hot coals and firewood. Will your landlord mind?
ORDINARY UTENSILS (If, as likely, the above conditions aren’t met. )
large pot
stove
Serves 4. Takes 2 hours 20 minutes.
PREPARATION
Dice garlic cloves and onions. Grate ginger. Add butter, vegetable oil and as many chicken pieces as will without touching to pan. Sauté at medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until chicken browns all over. Flip chicken enough to ensure even browning. (You might need to cook in batches.) Remove chicken and set aside. Add garlic and onion to pot. Sauté at medium-high heat for 4 minutes or until garlic and onion soften. Stir frequently. Add curry powder, ground cloves, coriander, ginger, nutmeg, salt, and turmeric. Sauté at medium heat for two minutes. Stir frequently.
Return chicken to pot. Add chicken stock; enough to cover chicken. Cover and simmer at low heat for 1 hour. While pot simmers, dice carrots. Peel and cut potatoes into ½” cubes. Add bay leaf, carrot, and potato or until carrot and potatoes soften. Stir until well blended. Cover and simmer at low heat for another ½ hour. Remove bay leaf. Stir occasionally.
TIDBITS
1) Lots of famous people are named after foods and dishes,
2) And vice versa.
3) Here’s a partial list in alphabetical order of their food names.
Fiona Apple – Famous songwriter and singer. Composed and sang “Extraordinary machine.” When a recording company decided to not release one of her albums, her fans mailed the company apples until they release it after all.
Arnold Palmer – Great golfer. Gave his name to a lemonade-and-iced-tea drink.
Kevin Bacon – in many movies including A Few Good Men.
Shaun Bean – in many movies, including National Treasure and the BBC series Sharpe.
Halle Berry – in many movies including Monster’s Ball.
Brie Larson – in many movies including, Short Term 12. The doctor who delivered was Brita Larson and was a friend of my grandmother. I have visited Dr. Larson’s old farm in Sweden.
Hamilton Burger – D.A. on the show Perry Mason. Fictitious character with a great name.
John Candy – best known for the Canadian TV show, “Second City.”
Cherry Jones- in many movies including The Perfect Storm..
Rosemary Clooney – Chart-topping singer during the 1950s.
Tim Curry – in many movies, plays, etc, including Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Ginger Rogers – Great dance and actress. Starred in many movies with Fred Astaire.
Meatloaf – Born Marvin Lee Aday. Famous singer. Made Bat Out of Hell album.
Barry Pepper – in many movies including Saving Private Ryan.
Condoleezza Rice – Press Secretary of State, the second person to President George W. Bush
Tim Salmon – All Star outfielder for the California Angels.
Shirley Temple – Great actress. Ambassador for the US. Childhood acquaintance of my mother. Gave her name to a drink of grenadine, ginger ale* soda, and maraschino cherry. * = There’s a bit of controversy here. Some people insist that the soda is lemon lime.
Darryl Strawberry – All star right fielder for the New York Mets.
– Paul De Lancey, The Comic Chef, Ph.D. (but not with cell phones)
My cookbook, Following Good Food Around the World, with its 180 wonderful recipes, my newest novel, Do Lutheran Hunks Eat Mushrooms, a hilarious apocalyptic thriller, and all my other books, are available on amazon.com.
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