Frango com Quiabo

Ingredients

• 1.3 kg chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
• 400 g okra, small pods
• 2 limes
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp lard or oil
• 1 tsp colorau (annatto powder)
• 2 bay leaves
• 600 ml hot chicken stock
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 small bunch parsley, chopped
• 200 g fine cornmeal (fubá)
• 1.2 litres water for the angu
• Salt and black pepper

Before you cook

• Season the chicken with the juice of one lime, the crushed garlic, salt and pepper and leave it for 20 minutes.
• Wash the okra and dry each pod completely, then trim the caps without cutting into the pod itself.
• Rub the whole okra with the juice of the second lime to stop it going slippery.
• Whisk the cornmeal into 400 ml of the cold water in a jug until smooth.

Steps

1. Melt the lard in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat.
2. Brown the chicken pieces in batches for four minutes a side, then set them aside.
3. Lower the heat and cook the onion in the fat for five minutes, until soft.
4. Stir in the colorau and cook it for thirty seconds so it blooms in the fat.
5. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and cook for four minutes, until the tomatoes collapse.
6. Return the chicken to the pan and pour in the hot stock.
7. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender.
8. Heat a dry frying pan over high heat and sear the whole okra pods for five minutes, turning them, until lightly blistered.
9. Lift the okra into the chicken pan and push the pods under the sauce.
10. Simmer uncovered for a further 12 minutes, until the okra is tender but still holds its shape.
11. Bring the remaining 800 ml of water to the boil in a saucepan with a teaspoon of salt.
12. Pour in the cornmeal slurry in a steady stream, whisking hard to keep it smooth.
13. Cook the angu over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon, until it pulls away from the sides of the pan.
14. Season the chicken, scatter over the spring onions and parsley and spoon it beside the angu.