What you can do
Malian Recipes
Tigadeguena (chicken in peanut sauce)
In Africa, peanuts are often called groundnuts, and many variations on this "chicken-groundnut stew" are found throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Homemade peanut butter is often used in central African cooking. You can make your own homemade peanut butter by roasting peanuts, removing the shells, and then crushing the peanuts into a thick paste.
Tip: the big issue is the quality of the peanut butter – it should be smooth not crunchy and should ideally not have any added sugar.
peanut oil (or any cooking oil)
1 chicken (for the gourmet version, four to six chicken breasts) cut into
bite-sized or serving-sized pieces
1-2 onions, cut up
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced (optional)
1 cup tomato paste (or tomato sauce)
1 cup peanut butter (natural, or homemade is best)
1 cup water
cayenne pepper or red pepper
black pepper
salt
Heat a couple spoonfuls of oil in a deep pot. Add the chicken and fry it on both sides until it is browned and nearly done. Remove the chicken and set aside. (It might be best to fry part of the chicken and remove it, and then repeat the process two or three times. Chicken cooks best if the chicken pieces do not touch each other while frying.) Fry the onions and garlic in the same pot. Stir in tomato paste. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Return chicken to pot. Stir in peanut butter (if using peanuts, first shell and roast them, then grind or mash them into a paste, adding water if needed). Be sure to use a very low heat or peanut butter will scorch. Stir in enough water to make tomato paste and peanut butter into a smooth sauce. Add spices to taste. Stir. Simmer on low heat until chicken is done.
Serve with fried or boiled Plantains, and Rice. Oven or grill variation: Use larger chicken pieces. Follow all directions but without chicken. Cook sauce over low heat until heated through. (Use low heat; be careful not to scorch.) Cook chicken in oven or on an outdoor grill. Pour sauce on chicken after chicken is done cooking. Soup variation: Cut chicken into small bite-sized pieces. Follow all directions, but add an extra few cups of water or chicken broth.
For a vegetarian version:
Substitute the chicken with cabbage (cut into quarters or sixths rather than break up into leaves – so slice your cabbage like you would a cake) and butternut squash. Reduce the cooking time to about 20-25 minutes in this case.
Meni-meniyong (sesame seed and honey sticks)
20 minutes cooking time. 5 minutes preparation
Ingredients:
100g sesame seeds
50g margarine
1 cup honey/sugar
Method:
Heat the sesame seeds in a shallow pan without any oil, until they begin to jump about and turn golden. Shake the pan so that they do not stick or burn then allow to cool.
Using a heavy pan, heat the margarine and then add the honey.
Stir continuously until the mixture begins to caramelise.
Pour the sesame seeds into the warm mixture and stir thoroughly.
Transfer the mixture into a flat tin.
As the mixture cools, shape it into sticks either by cutting or rolling, and then coating it with more sesame seeds if required.
