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Ivorian · West African

Kedjenou

Non-vegetarian

Chicken slow-cooked in a sealed pot with tomatoes, onions, eggplant, ginger and chilli in its own juices, with no added water. A classic Ivorian dish, traditionally cooked in a clay canari over embers.

Kedjenou is an Ivorian stew from Côte d'Ivoire, ready in about 1 hour 20 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on and tomato. It serves 5 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Kedjenou chicken stew with peppers and tomato in a clay pot
Photo: Serein / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-3.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h
Total
1 h 20 min
Serves
5
Level
Easy
Calories
583

Ingredients

5 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the chicken, onions (opens in a new tab), tomatoes (opens in a new tab), eggplant (opens in a new tab), chillies, ginger, garlic (opens in a new tab), thyme (opens in a new tab), bay leaves (opens in a new tab), salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) in a heavy pot and mix well with your hands.

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

  2. Step 2

    Seal the pot tightly (lay foil under the lid if it does not fit snugly) and set over medium-low heat. Do not add water — the vegetables release plenty of juice.

    • 2 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Cook for about 1 hour without lifting the lid. Every 10 minutes, hold the lid firmly and shake the pot to toss the contents instead of stirring.

    • 55 min
    • low heat

    Shaking keeps the chicken pieces whole and stops sticking.

  4. Step 4

    Check the chicken is tender and cooked through, adjust the salt and serve with attiéké (opens in a new tab) or rice.

    • 3 min

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

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

About this dish

Origin
Côte d'Ivoire · Well documentedAssociated with the Baoulé people of central Côte d'Ivoire.More food from Côte d'Ivoire
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Stews & braises · Main courses
Cooking method
Braised, Slow-cooked
Taste
savoury, aromatic / warmly spiced, spicy (chilli heat), fresh
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, Paleo-styleWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Tomato · Onion · Eggplant · Fresh red chilli · Fresh ginger
Techniques
Braising · Layering and sealing

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

583 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 481 g · recipe makes 5

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 33%
  • Carbohydrate 11%
  • Fat 57%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy583 kcal121 kcal
Protein47.2 g9.8 g
Carbohydrate15.2 g3.2 g
Net carbohydrate10.3 g2.1 g
Sugars7.8 g1.6 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4.9 g1 g
Fat36.6 g7.6 g
Saturated fat10.4 g2.2 g
Trans fat0.2 g0 g
Cholesterol180 mg37 mg
Sodium877 mg182 mg
Salt equivalent2.2 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
990 mg
Calcium
64 mg
Iron
2.9 mg
Magnesium
79 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
142 µg
Vitamin C
27 mg
Vitamin D
0.5 µg
Vitamin B12
0.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
58 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.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: attiéké (cassava couscous).
  • “—” 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

  • If your pot is thin, set it on a heat diffuser so the base doesn't scorch during the long, waterless cook.

Common mistakes

  • Opening the lid to stir — steam escapes and the chicken can scorch.

Serve with

  • Serve with attiéké, rice or foutou (pounded plantain).

Storage

  • Refrigerate up to 3 days; freezes well.

Reheating

  • Reheat covered over low heat.

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, 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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