Chicken Potjieoks With Spices and Coconut Milk

Chicken Potjieoks With spices and Coconut Milk, potjieoks is uniquely South African and traditionally made around an open fire preferably in the company of good friends or with a family members. So its a delightful and memorable meal. The best meat to use for potjiekos is what is known as stewing beef, sinewy and gelatinous cuts of beef which become deliciously tender when simmered for a long time, developing a strong meaty flavour. Other meat such as venison, mutton, chicken and even fish make ideal potjies. 

Last friday I got a chance to make this Potijeoks. It was my husbands year end office party and had Potijeoks competition. We decided to make Chicken potjieoks with our Kerala stew touch. It became flavorful and delicious , we got first place in that competition😊. 

Potjiekos (literally meaning pot food) has been part of South Africa’s culture for many centuries – since the days of the first settlement at the Cape when food was cooked in a black cast-iron potjie pot hanging from a chain over the kitchen fire. Later the black pot accompanied the pioneers who moved into the country. As the Victorian era unfolded, so the delights of the bubbling black potjie pot made way for magnificent oven roasts, and later still the traditional braaivleis in the 1950’s and 60’s. The re-emergence of potjie in the late 1970’s coincided with the increase in meat prices at the time, and it was then that food magazines and books started publishing articles on potjiekos cooking and potjie recipes.

It is believed that the potjie came from the Dutch ancestors of the South Africans, who brought with them heavy iron cooking pots which hung from hooks over the open hearth. These cast-iron pots retained heat well and could be kept simmering over a few embers. Rounded, potbellied pots were used for cooking tender roasts and stews as they allowed steam to circulate instead of escape through the lid. The flat-bottomed iron pans heated more quickly and were used to bake crusty loaves of bread in Dutch ovens. 

What sets potjiekos apart from these traditional cooking methods, is the fact that it is cooked outside. When the pot was moved from the kitchen hearth to a fire in the open bush, it became a potjie and part of the South African cooking heritage. The most common potjie is the rounded, potbellied, three-legged cast iron pot.

The fire is an important part of creating a culinary potjie masterpiece. Unlike a braai, the choice of wood or charcoal does not make much difference, as long as you can regulate the heat. That is done by adding or removing coals once the potjie is heated up. Timing is also very important, apart from the time the potjie needs to become cooked you have to factor in the time it takes for the wood or charcoal to become coals, so in most cases you will have to start long before serving. 

Here is my version of Chicken Potjies recipe for you all to try. 

Ingredients 

To Marinate

• Chicken 2 kg
• Crushed Green Chilli 1tsp
• Crushed Garlic 1 tsp
• Crushed Ginger 1 tsp
• Lemon Juice 1 tsp
• Salt
• Fry Chicken
• Butter 3 to 4 tbsp

To Saute

• Onion 4 medium size, sliced
• Button Mushrooms 500gm , sliced
• Green Peas 300gm, fresh once
• Carrots 12 nos, diced
• Crushed Green Chilli 1 tsp
• Crushed Garlic 1tsp
• Crushed Ginger 1 tsp
• Coriander Leaves few , chopped
• Bay Leaf 2
• Cloves 5 nos
• Cinnamon Sticks few
• Star Anees 2 nos
• Garam Masala Powder 2 tbsp
• Black Pepper Powder 2 tsp
• Salt
• Oil

For the Sauce 

• Coconut Milk 400ml
• White Wine / Dry Sherry 1/2 glass / 150ml

Method

Here I used Chicken Thigh portions, as thigh pieces and drumsticks. Clean chicken pieces with water, drain water well and marinate chicken with ingredients under ' to marinate'. Keep it aside for 2 hours or over night. 

Heat a pan with 3 tbsp of butter and shallow fry the chicken pieces and keep it aside. Heat the potjie once its hot add oil. Once oil is hot enough add cinnamon sticks, cloves, bay leaf and star anees. Saute for few seconds, once it leaves the aroma add half of the sliced onions. Saute until its half done. Now add crushed ginger, garlic and green chili and saute until it leaves the raw aroma. Now add 1 tbsp of garam masala , 1 tsp of black pepper powder and salt. Stir well. Now add shallow fried chicken pieces and combine everything well. Add 500 ml of water cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Open and add green peas, mushroom and remaining sliced onions, combine everything well. Cover and cook again for 15 minutes. Now open the lid and and cook for 8 to 10 minutes. Now add remaining garam masala powder and black pepper powder. Mix well. Add white wine now and mix well. Add coconut milk now and stir well. Now you will have a good sauce . Check black pepper and salt if need add accordingly. Add a pinch of garam masala powder and chopped coriander leaves, remove from the fire cover and keep it aside for 5 to 10 minutes. Serve warm with Bread or Rice. Here I served with onion flavored rice with butter. 

NB: I know you won't be having Potjieoks pot, please use heavy bottom sauce pan instead and keep the flame on low and cook. Please take care while stiring, not to break the chicken pieces. Please dont add too much of lemon juice while marinating the chicken, because the chicken gets tender and will get mashed fast.