Igisafuriya

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1whole chicken, jointed
• or 1.5 kg chicken pieces
• 2 teaspoonssalt
• black pepper

The pot

• 5green plantains, in thick pieces
• 3onions, sliced
• 6celery stalks, chopped
• with their leaves
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 1sweet pepper, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsoil
• 1stock cube
• about 350 ml water
• salt and black pepper

Sometimes added

• 2carrots, in chunks
• 1 tablespoontomato paste
• a handful of dodo or greens

To serve

• cooked greens
• chilli sauce
• avocado, in season

Directions

1. Cut the ends off with a knife first. Score the skin lengthways in three places. Cut through the skin but not the flesh. Rub your hands with oil first if you can.
2. Cut the peeled plantains into thick pieces. Joint the chicken into serving pieces. Rinse them and pat them completely dry. Season them with salt and black pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot. Add the chicken pieces skin side down.
3. Brown them for about four minutes a side. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Lift them out and set them aside. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about five minutes.
4. Return the chicken pieces to the pot. Lay the plantain pieces around them. Add the chopped sweet pepper in. Add the carrots if you are using them. Crumble in the stock cube as well. Season it with salt and black pepper. Adding the liquid takes restraint.
5. Pour in only about three hundred millilitres. It should come partway up, not cover things. Put a tight fitting lid on the pot. Turn the heat right down to low. Let it cook without lifting the lid. Cooking it takes about an hour. Shake the pot occasionally rather than stirring. Check it once after forty minutes. Add a splash of water only if it is dry. Judging when it is done is straightforward.
6. Take the lid off for the last ten minutes. Let any excess liquid reduce away. It should be a thick sauce at the end. Taste it and adjust the salt now. It needs more than you might expect. Add black pepper if it tastes flat. Serving it is done straight from the pot.
7. Take the pot to the table if you can. Ladle it into bowls or onto plates. Make sure everyone gets chicken and plantain. Put chilli sauce on the table. It keeps three days refrigerated.

Technique

• The same dish appears as igisafuriya in Rwanda and igisafuliya in Burundi, two countries that share a great deal of cooking and whose languages are closely related; it is one dish under two spellings.
• Rwandan igisafuriya uses a great deal of celery, six stalks with their leaves being no mistake, and the celery is a main flavour rather than a background one, which visitors are often surprised by.
• Everything goes into one covered pot with very little liquid, since the vegetables release enough moisture to braise the whole thing, and the trapped steam does the cooking.

Substitutions

• Green plantain is essential, since ripe yellow plantain turns sweet and makes a different dish.
• Buy celery with its leaves attached, since supermarket celery often has them trimmed off.

Variations

• Some households add carrots or a spoonful of tomato paste.
• Igisafuliya in Burundi is the same dish under the other spelling.
• A version with goat or beef in place of chicken is also made.

History

Chicken and plantain braised in a covered pot; the name comes from Swahili sufuria, the aluminium cooking pan that spread with coastal trade.

Frequently asked questions

What is Igisafuriya?

Igisafuriya is a main from Rwanda: chicken, plantains and celery braised together in a pot. Chicken and plantain braised in a covered pot; the name comes from Swahili sufuria, the aluminium cooking pan that spread with coastal trade.

How long does Igisafuriya take to make?

Igisafuriya takes 25 minutes of preparation and 1 hour 15 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Igisafuriya?

Yes, within limits. Green plantain is essential, since ripe yellow plantain turns sweet and makes a different dish. Buy celery with its leaves attached, since supermarket celery often has them trimmed off.

What is the most important thing to get right in Igisafuriya?

Brown them for about four minutes a side. Do not crowd the pot at any point. Lift them out and set them aside. Add the sliced onions to the pot. Cook them for a good eight minutes. Add the crushed garlic to them. Cook it for a good two minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes to it. Cook them down for about five minutes.