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2.3 from 9 votes

Chicken Palava

Chicken palava is a Liberian recipe of chicken in a sauce that combines mainly green vegetables, often spinach and okra, but mlokhia is sometimes added too.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Total Time
1 hr 5 mins
Servings: 4 people
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: African

Ingredients

  • 4 chicken breasts , cut into strips
  • 3 cloves garlic , crushed
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil (or palm oil)
  • 2 scallions , thinly sliced
  • 4 tomatoes , peeled, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 2½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 prig thyme
  • ½ teaspoon ground ginger
  • ½ lb spinach , chopped
  • ½ lb Jew's mallow (mlokhia)
  • 1 green chili pepper , seeded and minced
  • 2 tablespoons peanuts , coarsely ground
  • 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds
  • salt
  • pepper

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. In a bowl, combine garlic and chicken. Add salt and pepper.
  2. Melt the butter in a pan and sauté the chicken over low heat, turning the pieces over. Set aside.
  3. In a saucepan, heat the oil. Sauté the onions and tomatoes over medium / high heat for 5 minutes, until they soften.
  4. Reduce heat and add peanut butter and half of the chicken stock. Stir well.
  5. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent the peanut butter from burning, then pour the remaining broth, thyme, ginger, spinach, Jew's mallow, ground peanuts and chili pepper. Add salt and pepper.
  6. Add the chicken to the mixture and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes. If necessary, increase the heat toward the end to reduce the liquid.
  7. Sprinkle with pumpkin seeds before serving.