Chicken potjie

Name: Chicken potjie
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 45 min
Total time: 2 h 10 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: South African
Ingredients: 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, thighs and drumsticks; 2 tablespoons oil; 2 onions, chopped; 3 cloves garlic, chopped; 1 tablespoon mild curry powder; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; 2 bay leaves; 60 ml (1/4 cup) fruit chutney, such as Mrs Ball's (or mango chutney); 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce; 60 ml (1/4 cup) brown vinegar or white wine vinegar; 500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock; 250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine, optional; 2 teaspoons salt; 1 teaspoon black pepper; 2 large potatoes, cut into thick chunks; 1/2 small butternut, about 500 g (1.1 lb), peeled and cut into thick chunks (or any winter squash or sweet potato); 4 carrots, cut into thick chunks; 250 g (9 oz) mushrooms, halved; 200 g (7 oz) baby marrows (zucchini), cut into thick rounds; 125 ml (1/2 cup) cream or coconut milk; A handful of chopped parsley

Browned chicken thighs and drumsticks in a mild curry and chutney sauce, layered with potatoes, butternut and mushrooms and left to simmer over a few coals.

Coals: Low coals
Prep: 25 min
On the fire: 1 hr 45 min
Serves: 6

Ingredients

1.5 kg (3.3 lb) bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, thighs and drumsticks
2 tablespoons oil
2 onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 bay leaves
60 ml (1/4 cup) fruit chutney, such as Mrs Ball's (or mango chutney)
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
60 ml (1/4 cup) brown vinegar or white wine vinegar
500 ml (2 cups) chicken stock
250 ml (1 cup) dry white wine, optional
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Vegetables, in the order they go in

2 large potatoes, cut into thick chunks
1/2 small butternut, about 500 g (1.1 lb), peeled and cut into thick chunks (or any winter squash or sweet potato)
4 carrots, cut into thick chunks
250 g (9 oz) mushrooms, halved
200 g (7 oz) baby marrows (zucchini), cut into thick rounds

To finish, optional

125 ml (1/2 cup) cream or coconut milk
A handful of chopped parsley

Method

Set a No. 3 potjie or an 8 litre (8 quart) Dutch oven over medium coals. Season the chicken with half the salt and the pepper.
Heat the oil and brown the chicken in two batches, skin side down first, about 5 minutes a batch. Lift it out.
Cook the onions in the same pot for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder, turmeric and bay leaves and stir for 1 minute.
Return the chicken. Add the chutney, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, stock and the wine if using. Bring it to a simmer.
Layer the vegetables on top without stirring: potatoes and butternut first, then carrots, then mushrooms, then baby marrows. Sprinkle the rest of the salt over the layers.
Put the lid on. Scrape the coals away so only a handful remain under the pot. Simmer gently for 75 to 90 minutes, adding a few fresh coals every 30 to 40 minutes.
After 1 hour, lift the lid once and look. If the bottom looks dry, pour a splash of hot stock down the side of the pot.
At the end, stir through gently once, taste for salt, and stir in the cream and parsley if using. Serve from the pot with rice or pap.

Done when: the chicken pulls from the bone and reads 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part, the potatoes are soft to a knife point, and the sauce has thickened a little.

Tips

Keep the coals under the pot, not around it. Flames up the sides scorch the bottom layer before the top is cooked.
Cut the vegetables big. Small dice disappears into the sauce.
Every time you lift the lid you lose about 10 minutes of heat. Listen instead. A quiet bubble is right, a rattle is too hot.
Chicken cooks faster than red meat. Do not run this pot for 4 hours or the chicken shreds.
In the kitchen, use a heavy casserole in a 160°C (325°F) oven for the same time.

Potjie is the diminutive of pot. The three-legged cast-iron pot came to the Cape with the Dutch and travelled inland with the Voortrekkers, and potjiekos is what was cooked in it. The old pots held mutton or beef. A chicken potjie is a modern, cheaper version that is also quicker, which makes it a good first potjie.

Read potjie basics if you have not cooked in one before, and reading your coals for keeping a low fire going. Chicken temperatures are in safe braai temperatures.