Beninese · main

Amiwo (Spiced Cornmeal with Fried Chicken)

Amiwo (Spiced Cornmeal with Fried Chicken) reads umami 6.8, richness 5.2 and salinity 5.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Beninese main, about 1 hr 36 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.8 · Richness 5.2 · Salinity 5.0 · Allium 4.0 · Heat 3.7 · Sweetness 2.9 · Nutty 2.9 · Marine & Briny 2.7 · Fruity 2.4 · Sourness 2.3 · Warm Spice 1.9 · Herbaceous 1.3 · Floral 0.9 · Earthy 0.9 · Bitterness 0.8 · Citrus 0.5

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 1 hr 36 min (1 hr 31 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 96.1 kcal, 6.4 g protein, 2.8 g fat, 11.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains seafood — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (11 steps)

  1. Heat the 60 ml groundnut oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and cook the chopped onion 6 minutes until soft.
  2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste and fry 5 minutes until it darkens.
  4. Add the blended tomatoes, the blended onion, the blended chilli and the bay leaf and cook 20 to 25 minutes, stirring, until the sauce is thick and the oil rises clear at the edges. Amiwo is cornmeal cooked in the sauce itself, not cornmeal served beside a sauce, so this base has to be right before the flour goes anywhere near it.
  5. Pour in the stock with the crayfish and half the salt and bring to a rolling boil, 5 minutes.
  6. Rain in the cornmeal in a steady stream, stirring hard with a wooden spatula, then turn and fold the mass over low heat 12 to 15 minutes, until it stiffens, comes away from the sides of the pot and smells cooked rather than raw and chalky.
  7. Press it into an oiled bowl and let it rest 5 minutes to set.
  8. Meanwhile season the chicken with the remaining salt and leave it 10 minutes.
  9. Simmer the chicken gently in a covered pan with a splash of water for 20 minutes, until cooked through.
  10. Heat the frying oil to 175 C and fry the chicken pieces 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until crisp and mahogany.
  11. Turn the amiwo out, cut it into wedges and serve with the fried chicken and any remaining sauce.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.