This hearty Seychellois Chicken Daube with Green Peas- Ladob Poul ek Pti Pwa-is full of tropical flavour and healthy goodness. One of my favourite dishes of all time flavoured with onion, garlic, ginger and herbs.
What is a Seychellois Creole Daube or ladob?
Ladob is a cooking method that could have derived from the French word ‘daube’ which is a classic Provençal stew made with inexpensive beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbs and traditionally cooked in a ‘daubière’, a braising pan.
In Seychelles, this method of cookery has a totally different meaning and it gets even more complex because it means different things when it applies to fish and meat to when it applies to desserts.
The meat or fish daube is like a stew or ‘ragout’ to which fried potatoes and at times small green peas have been added. The daube as a dessert dish is one that is cooked over moderate heat with coconut milk, nutmeg, vanilla and sugar, eg. ladob banann or banana daube. When the dish is cooked the coconut milk turns into a creamy consistency.
How do we make the Chicken Daube with Green Peas- Ladob Poul ek Pti Pwa
Prepare the chicken
For this daube we are using shallow fried chicken portions. The chicken is cut into bite size and no bones are removed. It is seasoned only with salt and pepper before being fried. The frying assists in imparting more flavour to the dish as well as giving the chicken a ‘hardened surface’ so that it does not break up in the cooking process.
This method of frying whereby the chicken pieces are seasoned with only salt and pepper and not dipped in flour or a batter was one of the traditional ways to preserve the chicken for later use. Fried chicken stored in an airtight container lasts a good 4-5 days.
Prepare the potatoes
Peel potatoes and cut into bite size and shallow fry until golden brown. Keep
Selecting the Capsicum
Choose a capsicum that feels firm , heavy and smooth; looks glossy and has a vivid deep colour and with minimal blemishes and/or soft spots.
Preparing the Capsicum
Wash and dry your capsicum, locally known a gro piman ( lit. big chilli) and place it on a cutting board with the stem facing your knife-wielding hand. Cut off the top of the capsicum just below the curve exposing the ribs and seeds inside. Pop the stem out of the top portion and discard it. Set aside the leftover top , which will now have an empty hole where the top was, to be cut up later if required. Slice off the bottom of the capsicum and set aside. Sit the capsicum on its bottom end and with the tip of your knife make a vertical slice on the side closest to you to open up the capsicum. Do not cut capsicum in half, slice only one side. Turn the capsicum on its side and cut along the inside removing the seeds and thin whitish membrane. Flatten the now-cleaned capsicum skin-side down and cut in squares of about 3 cm. Keep
Make Your Roux
The first step in cooking the Chicken Daube with Green Peas- Ladob Poul ek Pti Pwa– is to make a ‘rough’ brown roux. A roux is a combination of butter or margarine and flour cooked together. It is a base for many thick sauces and there are three types depending on the degree of cooking, namely the white, blond and brown roux. I call this step a ‘rough’ roux because we are using oil and not butter or margarine. Basically, what we do is heat the oil in a pot and add the flour and stir until it starts to brown.
Finish the dish
When the flour starts to brown, reduce the heat and add onions, garlic and ginger, cook until the onion is translucent, add water and stir thoroughly. Add the fried chicken, fried potato, capsicum, parsley and thyme, and simmer for about 15 minutes. Add peas and simmer for about 5 minutes. You can use either tinned or frozen peas. The idea here is not to add your peas too early because they will mash up. This daube will end up with a fairly thick sauce.
Season and serve with plain boiled rice.
Here is the recipe for the Chicken Daube with Green Peas- Ladob Poul ek Pti Pwa
This hearty Seychellois Chicken Daube with Green Peas- Ladob Poul ek Pti Pwa-is full of tropical flavour and healthy goodness.
- 1 medium size chicken cut, into bite-size pieces
- Vegetable oil to fry chicken and potato
- 125 ml oil for daube
- 2 large potatoes, cubed
- 1 medium size onion,sliced
- 1 small capsicum-cubed
- 1 ripe tomato- cubed finely
- 4 cloves garlic,crushed
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 sprigs parsley and thyme
- 500 ml cold water
- 1 tin green peas,drained
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- Salt and pepper to taste
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Season chicken with salt and pepper
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In a heavy pot deep fry the chicken pieces until golden brown. Keep
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Deep fry potato cubes until golden brown. Keep
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In a pot, heat oil add flour, stir until starting to brown. You are basically making a brown roux ( note 1), except that you are using oil and not butter
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Reduce heat and add onions,garlic and ginger, cook until the onions are light brown, add water and stir thoroughly
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Add chicken, potato, capsicum, cubed tomato, parsley and thyme, and simmer for about 15 minutes
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Add peas, gently stir and simmer about 5 minutes. This daube will end up with a fairly thick sauce
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Season and serve with plain boiled rice.
- A roux is a combination of butter or margarine and flour cooked together. It is a base for some thick sauces and there are of three types depending on the degree of cooking namely the white, blond and brown roux. I call this step making a ‘rough’ roux because we are using oil. Basically, what we do is heat the oil in a pot and add the flour and stir until it starts to brown
- Add your peas in the last five minutes because if you add them earlier they will mash up.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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