DG POULET (CAMEROON)

DG Poulet - Poulet, is the French word for Chicken.  DG stands for “Directeur Général”  Direct translation for this dish reads Director-General Chicken. This Cameroonian 🇨🇲 dish is one of those dishes saved for special guests.

Ingredients

• 2 large ripe plantains they should neither be too soft nor too hard
• 1/2 onion - chopped
• 5 pounds Chicken or Half a Chicken
• 4 medium tomatoes - blended
• 1/2 inch ginger root (peeled and roughly chopped)
• 4 garlic cloves - peeled
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 2 small seasoning cubes (Maggi)
• 1/2 celery stalk - roughly chopped
• 2 stems of green onions
• 4 stems of cilantro
• 1 large carrot 
• 1 handful of green beans
• 1 bell pepper - or 1/4 each of 4 colored bell peppers
• 2 cups of vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 habanero (hot) pepper optional

Instructions

1. Combine garlic, ginger, celery, cilantro, hot pepper and half of the onion in a blender. Add in 1/2 cup of water and blend to a paste. (spice blend)
2. Rinse chicken, pat it dry and cut into pieces. Place chicken in a pot. Add 3/4 of the spice blend, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 2 seasoning cubes, half of the white pepper and a cup of water. Cover and let it cook on medium heat for 20 minutes.
3. While the chicken cooks, put oil in another pot and heat on medium. Cut the plantain into circles and deep fry until golden brown. Set the plantains aside.
4. When chicken is done, remove from stock and place on a prepared baking tray. (You prepare the tray by lining with aluminum foil and rubbing oil on it).  Set the stock aside for later use. Now place in the oven at 400 degrees F (about 200 degrees C) and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Remove more than half of the oil from the same pan you used to fry the plantains (there should only be enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and heat
6. When the oil is hot, put in all the remaining onions to saute. Next, add in the tomatoes and cook until it no longer tastes sour. Be sure to stir from time to time. As the tomato cooks, chop the carrots, green beans, bell peppers, and green onions.
7. Add in the rest of the spice blend and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then add in chicken stock, remaining seasoning cubes and white pepper. Stir well and let them simmer together for two minutes.
8. Add in chicken and stir well. Add in fried plantains, then stir well too. Finally, add in the chopped vegetables and mix.

Video