Potato Hot Pot
Abuja, Nigeria · View all recipes
Overview
Potatoes parboiled and browned, then finished in a tomato and pepper sauce with vegetables and shrimp. The source places it in Cameroon and identifies it as a close relation of poulet DG, which is the useful frame. Poulet DG, poulet Directeur Général, the general manager's chicken, is one of Cameroon's best-known dishes: chicken with fried ripe plantain in a vegetable-heavy sauce, named for its expense and its association with people who could afford it. Potato hot pot is the same construction with potatoes in place of plantain, and it is worth understanding the substitution rather than treating this as a generic potato stew. The technique that carries it is the one people skip. The potatoes are parboiled and then fried or browned before they go into the sauce, which means they arrive with a crisp exterior and hold their shape rather than disintegrating. Potatoes added raw to a tomato sauce break down and thicken it into mush. The source is relaxed about the protein, chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp or beef liver all work, and the ingredient list happens to use shrimp. Crayfish or smoked turkey are common additions. The "Mild Fresh herbs Blend" in the ingredients is not defined anywhere. A blend of parsley, celery leaf, spring onion and basil is the usual Cameroonian equivalent.
AFN Heritage Note
Potato hot pot is a Cameroonian one-pot dish of browned potatoes cooked in a tomato and pepper sauce with vegetables and a protein. It is closely related to poulet DG, which uses fried ripe plantain in place of the potatoes.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1
Wash, peel and cut the potatoes into large chunks. Put them in a saucepan, salt the water, cover them and bring to the boil. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, they should be part-cooked, not soft.
- 2
Transfer them to a baking sheet, drizzle with a little olive oil and brown them under the grill, turning them as they colour. This step is what keeps them intact in the sauce.
- 3
Meanwhile, warm oil in a medium skillet and cook the onions until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
- 4
Mix the tomato paste with a little water and work it into the skillet. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes.
- 5
Tip in the diced tomatoes, green beans and carrots. Cook for another 5 minutes until al dente.
- 6
Put in the fresh herb blend, the browned potatoes, the peppers, a pinch of salt and 2 cups of water, more if you want it saucier. Cover and cook gently until everything is tender, about 15 minutes.
- 7
Add the shrimp for the final 3 to 4 minutes only. Season to taste and serve hot or warm.
Africook’s Notes
- Parboil and brown the potatoes before they go into the sauce. Raw potato disintegrates and turns the whole thing to mush.
- Add the shrimp at the very end. Three or four minutes is all they need and overcooked shrimp are rubbery.
- Any potato works. The source is explicit that no special variety is needed, red, white, large or small all do the job.
- Chicken, beef, pork, fish or beef liver all substitute for the shrimp. Crayfish or smoked turkey are common additions.
- Keep the vegetables al dente at the sauce stage, since they carry on cooking with the potatoes.
- The herb blend is parsley, celery leaf, spring onion and basil in most Cameroonian kitchens. The source does not specify.
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