Umlegwa Stew Photo by
Here’s umleqwa, a tasty Xhosa stew from the Eastern Cape.
Ingredients
- Two tablespoons butter
- One farm chicken, cut into portions
- One onion, finely chopped
- Two carrots, finely chopped
- Three celery sticks, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- One bay leaf
- Two and ½ cups chicken stock
, Two cups cooked black-eyed beans
Preparation
- Heat the butter in a large pan, add chicken and fry until lightly browned.
- Add vegetables and gently fry for a few minutes.
- Stir in herbs and stock. Bring to the boil then reduce heat, cover and cook at a gentle simmer until chicken is tender – about one hour.
- Remove the lid and cook for 30 more minutes. The liquid should reduce to gravy.
- If the sauce reduces too much, add a little extra stock.
- When the chicken is tender, stir in the cooked beans and simmer for five minutes.
- Serve with bogobe ba ting – a fermented sorghum porridge – and a cup of rooibos tea.
Tips
People in the Eastern Cape like the sauce or umlequmhluzi from this chicken stew to be served in a cup next to their plate. If the cup of umlequmhluzi is not produced they will say “ibingaseli na?” or “was the animal not drinking?”, which means that the meat is too dry.
