Galinha à zambeziana

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1whole chicken, spatchcocked
• or 1.2 kg chicken pieces
• juice of 3 limes
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Marinade

• 8garlic cloves, crushed
• 3piri piri chillies, chopped
• or 2 teaspoons chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoonpaprika
• 1 teaspoonblack pepper
• 3 tablespoonsoil

Coconut sauce

• 400 mlthick coconut milk
• 1onion, finely chopped
• 4garlic cloves, crushed
• 2tomatoes, chopped
• 3piri piri chillies, chopped
• 50 gbutter
• juice of 2 limes
• salt and black pepper

To serve

• plain rice
• matapa or greens
• lime wedges
• extra piri piri sauce

Directions

1. Use the thick part from the top of the tin. Never let coconut milk boil hard. Cut down each side of the backbone. Remove the backbone and open it out flat. Press down hard to flatten it. Rub it with lime juice and salt. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts. Cut into the breast, thighs and legs. Cut right down through to the bone.
2. Mix the garlic, chillies, paprika and pepper. Add the oil and work it into a paste. Rub it over the whole chicken. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least two full hours.
3. Melt the butter in a wide pan. Add the chopped onion to the pan. Cook it for about eight minutes. Add the garlic and the chillies. Cook them for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about six minutes. Adding the coconut milk needs care. Pour in all of the coconut milk.
4. Warm it very gently over a low heat. Small bubbles should barely break the surface. Let it thicken for about ten minutes. Squeeze in all the lime juice. Season it with salt and black pepper. It should be thick enough to coat a spoon.
5. Add more lime if it tastes flat. Add more chilli if you want it hotter. Wait until the coals are covered in grey ash. Spread them into an uneven bed. Leave one area cooler than the rest. Oil the grill bars before the chicken goes on. Grilling it takes patience and basting. Lay the chicken over the cooler part first. Cook it slowly for about twenty minutes. Turn it every five minutes or so.
6. Brush it on generously each time you turn it. Keep basting for another twenty minutes. Each coat dries slightly on the hot chicken. Heat the oven to 200C before roasting. Roast the chicken for about forty minutes. Baste it every ten minutes with the sauce. Finish it under a hot grill to colour it. Serving it is done piping hot.
7. Cut it into pieces for the table. Spoon any remaining sauce over it. Serve plain rice alongside it. Put extra piri piri sauce on the table. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• The dish comes from Quelimane in Zambezia province and sits exactly where Portuguese cooking, which brought garlic, lime, the grill and piri piri chillies, meets the Swahili coast, which contributed coconut and spices.
• Piri piri means pepper pepper in Swahili and is Capsicum frutescens, the small very hot chilli also called bird’s eye.
• The chicken is basted repeatedly as it grills so each coat dries slightly and the next builds on it, giving a thick coating rather than a dip; basting once at the end does not do it.

Substitutions

• An oven at 200C works in place of charcoal, basting every ten minutes.
• Chilli flakes stand in for fresh piri piri chillies.

Variations

• Some cooks add cashew paste to thicken the coconut sauce.
• A version cooked entirely in the pan rather than grilled is also made.
• Frango à cafreal is the related Mozambican grilled chicken with a green marinade.

History

From Quelimane in Zambezia province: chicken basted in coconut milk, lime and piri-piri, blending Portuguese and Swahili coastal cooking.

Frequently asked questions

What is Galinha à zambeziana?

Galinha à zambeziana is a main from Mozambique: chicken simmered in coconut milk, lime and piri-piri, Zambezia style. From Quelimane in Zambezia province: chicken basted in coconut milk, lime and piri-piri, blending Portuguese and Swahili coastal cooking.

How long does Galinha à zambeziana take to make?

Galinha à zambeziana takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 50 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Galinha à zambeziana?

Yes, within limits. An oven at 200C works in place of charcoal, basting every ten minutes. Chilli flakes stand in for fresh piri piri chillies.

What is the most important thing to get right in Galinha à zambeziana?

Use the thick part from the top of the tin. Never let coconut milk boil hard. Cut down each side of the backbone. Remove the backbone and open it out flat. Press down hard to flatten it. Rub it with lime juice and salt. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts. Cut into the breast, thighs and legs. Cut right down through to the bone.