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closeup of spicy chicken soup showing chicken thighs
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West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup

West African Groundnut Spicy Chicken Soup is thick, fragrant and comforting.
Course West African
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 8
Calories 297kcal
Author Bintu Hardy

Ingredients

  • 12 chicken drumsticks
  • 2 tsp ground coriander divided
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Ground white pepper
  • Salt
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil divided
  • 1 onion peeled and finely diced
  • 2 red pepper bell deseeded and finely diced
  • 400 g chopped tomatoes
  • 5 tbsp smooth peanut butter
  • 1 cm piece of peeled ginger roughly chopped
  • 2 ​garlic cloves peeled
  • Scotch bonnet or other chilli to your taste
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 1 stock cube*
  • 500 ml water
UK Measures - **Convert to US Measures**

Instructions

  • Season chicken with 1 tsp ground coriander, garlic powder, thyme, pepper and salt.
  • Add 1 tbsp of peanut oil to a frying pan over medium heat and brown the chicken on all sides in batches.
  • Add the remaining oil to the frying pan and add the onion and peppers and cook for 5 mins until the onions are softened.
  • Add 1 tbsp chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp water, the peanut butter, the garlic, ginger and chopped scotch bonnet to the mini chopper, fitted on your Kenwood Titanium Chef machine. Give it a quick stir to loosen up the peanut butter and blend into a paste.
  • Stir the blended peanut butter sauce, the remaining ingredients and chicken back into the onion mix, bring to a boil, then reduce to a 'rolling simmer' for about 60 mins.
  • Leave cover ajar during cooking as you want the peanut sauce to reduce.
  • Stir the mix occasionally during the 60 minutes as the peanut butter could settle at the bottom of the pot.
  • You want a peanut soup that is darker, tastes sweeter and 'caramelised' at the end'. (You will see a few small bits of oil floating at the top when done.) At the end of 60 mins, taste stew and adjust seasoning, then turn off.
  • Serve with rice (plantains or bread) and garnish with nuts, herbs and spring onions.

Notes

The soup foams up during boiling, so you need to reduce it to a 'rolling or roiling' simmer as soon as it starts to boil.
*If you don't want to use a jumbo cube (maggi cube) then omit it and replace the water with chicken stock.
For a slightly thicker more caramelised sauce that my family prefers then simmer for another 15 mins.

Nutrition

Calories: 297kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 104mg | Sodium: 377mg | Potassium: 534mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1070IU | Vitamin C: 45.1mg | Calcium: 44mg | Iron: 1.9mg