AFRICAN FOODS #8 GHANA hkatenkwan-groundnut-stew-recipe

The marriage of tomatoes and ground peanuts in stews is popular in sub-Saharan African cooking. Hkatenkwan, or nkatenkwan, is a tasty version of the dish enjoyed in Ghana. Chicken, sometimes smoked fish, and vegetables simmer in a tomatoey broth. Towards the end of cooking, the broth is thickened with peanut butter.

This rich, filling stew is traditionally served with hard-boiled eggs and various condiments to sprinkle over the top. Peanuts are known as groundnuts in Africa.

INGREDIENTS
1 chicken, cut into pieces 1-inch piece of ginger 1/2 of a whole onion 2 tblsp tomato paste 1 tblsp peanut oil, or other light cooking oil 1 cup onion, well chopped 1 cup tomatoes, chopped 2/3 cup peanut butter 2 tsp salt 2 hot chiles, crushed, or 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 medium-size eggplant, peeled and cubed 2 cups fresh or frozen okra

DIRECTIONS

Boil chicken with ginger and the onion half, using about 2 cups water. Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, fry tomato paste in the oil over low heat for about 5 minutes. Add to the paste the chopped onions and tomatoes, stirring occasionally until the onions are clear. Remove the partially-cooked chicken pieces and put them, along with about half the broth, in the large pot. Add the peanut butter, salt and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes before stirring in the eggplant and okra. Continue cooking until the chicken and vegetables are tender. Add more broth as needed to maintain a thick, stewy consistency.