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Beninese · West African

Amiwo

Non-vegetarian

Cornmeal cooked in a spiced tomato and chicken broth into a soft, brick-red paste, served with the fried chicken and sauce. A festive Fon dish from southern Benin.

Amiwo is a Beninese main course, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on, tomato paste and cornmeal. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking
Bowl of amiwo, reddish tomato-flavoured cornmeal, with chicken in sauce
Photo: Adoscam / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
649

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Season the chicken with 1 tsp salt, the garlic (opens in a new tab) and ginger. Brown it in the oil in a heavy pot until golden all over, then lift out.

    Food safety: Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw chicken.

  2. Step 2

    In the same oil fry the blended onion (opens in a new tab), tomatoes (opens in a new tab), tomato paste (opens in a new tab) and chilli until thick and the oil separates.

    • 15 min
    • medium heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Return the chicken with the water and remaining salt and simmer until cooked through, 20 minutes. Lift out the chicken and about a third of the sauce and keep warm.

    • 20 min
    • medium-low heat

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C at the bone.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Rain the cornmeal (opens in a new tab) into the simmering sauce in the pot, stirring vigorously, and cook until thick, smooth and pulling away from the sides, about 10 minutes.

    • 10 min
    • low heat

  5. Step 5

    Shape the amiwo with a wet bowl and serve with the chicken and reserved sauce.

    • 2 min
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Southern Benin, Benin · Commonly attributedA Fon specialty; also eaten in southern Togo.Also popular in TogoMore food from Benin
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Main courses
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Simmered, Boiled
Taste
savoury, tangy, spicy (chilli heat)
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · High-protein
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Tomato paste · Cornmeal · Garlic · Fresh ginger · Onion
Techniques
Pan-frying · Boiling · Simmering · Bhunao

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

649 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 557 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 23%
  • Carbohydrate 29%
  • Fat 48%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy649 kcal116 kcal
Protein36.8 g6.6 g
Carbohydrate47.9 g8.6 g
Net carbohydrate42.2 g7.6 g
Sugars5.1 g0.9 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre5.7 g1 g
Fat34.8 g6.3 g
Saturated fat8.1 g1.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol125 mg22 mg
Sodium926 mg166 mg
Salt equivalent2.3 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
809 mg
Calcium
67 mg
Iron
3.8 mg
Magnesium
119 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
114 µg
Vitamin C
21 mg
Vitamin D
0.3 µg
Vitamin B12
0.5 µg
Folate (DFE)
43 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Rain the cornmeal in slowly with one hand while stirring hard with the other to avoid lumps.

Common mistakes

  • Taking the paste off too soon — undercooked amiwo tastes raw; it should pull away from the pot.

Serve with

  • Serve with a raw tomato-onion-chilli relish.

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 2 days.

Reheating

  • Steam the amiwo; reheat the chicken in its sauce.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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