Ixta Belfrage’s coconut chicken with charred okra

“Chicken and okra is a combination that can be found in many different cuisines – Indian, Chinese, West African, Creole, to name but a few,” says Ixta Belfrage, author of FUSÃO: Untraditional recipes inspired by Brasil. “In Brazil, frango com quiabo (chicken with okra) is a typical dish from the state of Minas Gerais (see page 40), with roots in West African cooking (okra is native to West Africa and was brought to Brazil during the slave trade.This version is inspired by (but very different to) the classic dish. Untraditionally, it features coconut milk in the sauce and coffee in the marinade, and rather than cooking the okra in the sauce (which makes it soft and slimy), I char it and serve it on top to preserve its crunch.”

Ingredients

8 chicken drumsticks
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, whole (optional)

For the sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Urfa chilli
1 tsp ground coffee
1 tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp smoked paprika
about 20 twists of freshly cracked pepper
1 x 400g tin of full-fat coconut milk
150g sweet cherry tomatoes
1 red bell pepper, deseeded and quartered (170g)
3 small garlic cloves, peeled
5g fresh ginger, peeled
1 Scotch bonnet chilli, deseeded and finely chopped (or a milder chilli if you prefer)
2 tbsp runny honey (or maple/agave syrup)
1 tbsp red palm oil (see page 20) or coconut oil
1½ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp rice vinegar
½ tsp medium curry powder
¼ tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground turmeric
About 50 twists of freshly cracked pepper

To serve

140g okra, halved at an angle
Olive oil
15g picked fresh coriander leaves
15g spring onions, green ends thinly sliced
2 limes, halved
Rice or flatbreads

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

1 hour/rest time is 10 minutes

Servings

Method

1 Put the chicken and all the marinade ingredients into a large bowl and mix very well to coat the chicken evenly.

2 Put all the sauce ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth.

3 Heat a 26cm-wide high-sided pan, for which you have a lid, on a high heat. Once hot, add the chicken drumsticks, spaced apart as much as possible. Fry for about 8 minutes, turning every 2 minutes until browned all over.

4 Pour the sauce into the pan and mix so all the chicken drumsticks are coated. Add the whole Scotch bonnet (if using), cover with a lid and cook on high for 5 minutes. Lower the heat all the way down and cook for another 40 minutes, until the chicken is very soft. Leave to rest for 10 minutes. Squeeze the Scotch bonnet into the sauce to release its flavour (if using).

5 Meanwhile, heat a frying pan on a high heat. Toss the okra with a little oil and fine salt, then add to the hot pan. Cook for about 6 minutes, turning a few times until charred all over.

6 Toss the charred okra with the coriander and spring onions.

7 Squeeze the juice of ½ a lime over the chicken, top with the okra and herbs and serve with rice or flatbreads and the rest of the limes.

Get involved

Ixta is a fusion cook and cookbook author who takes inspiration from her Brazilian and English roots and Italian and Mexican influences. Recipe taken from FUSÃO: Untraditional recipes inspired by Brasil.