It is a stew, of meat or fish, over here in portugal it is usually done with chicken.

The name : MOAMBA or Moambe in english.

I usued these sites for guidance and to let you have pictures:
http://migascomgindungo.blogspot.com/2007/09/moamba-de-galinha-com-leo-de-palma.html

http://migascomgindungo.blogspot.com/2007/08/moamba-de-galinha-de-ginguba.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moambe

BAsically you stew chicken with garlic, onion, tomatoes, pumpkin and ochra ( yes , your darling ochra) and dendem / palm oil/butter which is responsible for the orange colour of the sauce like stew and its flavour.

The stew has a lot of thick juice, so you need to serve it with boiled manioc puree , broiled banana ( the big platano banana also known as bread banana) and also boiled beans which are then refried in palm oil. Boiled khale may also be served, or any bitter boiled greens.

Chicken Moambe from Angola

one 4 pound chicken
3 garlics cloves
enough “gindungo” small red dried fiery peppers also called piri-piri
1 cup palm oil, which is solid likebutter – same as azeite de dendem
2 big onions
1 dozen ochra
1 pound cleaned diced pumpkin
1 or 2 tomatoes – no skin, no seeds

Wash and cut up the chicken in samll pieces. Dry with paper towels, and rub with a paste made with the garlics, salt and piripiri. Let it marinate for at least 30 minutes – if only 30 mins, leave it on the kitchen counter, if longer, in the fridge.
you can fry the chicken in it before carrying on the next steps, but this makes the dish heavier on the stomach…

After the oil, in go the chopped onions, chopped tomatoes, chicken and all its marinade/rub. Cook simmering a good 1 to 2 hours – depending on how tough the bird is. If water is needed, add 0nly 1/2 cup at a time as needed, the juices should barely cover the chicken pieces at this stage. The sauce needs to have a lot of concentrated flavour, do not turn this into a soup.

During the last 1/2 hour of cooking, in go the pumpkin and the ochra. This rounds up the sauce. ( during rhe last 10 minutes you may add 2 cups of ground peanuts , this makes the sauce even thicker and tastier) – thisis a very forgiving and adaptable stew. Adjust salt before you serve. This is enough for 6 to 8 adults.

Serve with FUNGE , a thick sticky boiled manioc paste: 2 cups of water, bring to a rolling boil, 2 cups of manioc flour, let them fall in a shower into the water and mix like hell to avoid lumps. Good luck, this needs real strength. Do not add salt – the seasoning comes from the moambe. This is enough for 4 adults.

If squeamish or short of time, serve with boiled rice io the funge.

Hope it goes well with you all ! Let us know please.

A very easy (too easy?) Reunion recipe is here: http://www.laughingduckgardens.com/ldblog.php/2009/10/26/rougail-zucchini/

As for Africa — will you look at the African roots of some American cooking/ingredients? I’m thinking sweet potatoes and a spicy peanut sauce, maybe combined with some kind of braised pork. But yeah, I don’t really know much beyond North Africa, either.

Great Post,

Michelle.