This savory, mildly-spiced chicken stew is easy to make, budget-friendly, and dependably delicious; making it perfect for family gatherings and cozy weeknight meals.
Combine cilantro, garlic, brown sugar, chopped pepper, buttermilk, oil, salt, and pepper in a blender cup.
Process until smooth.
Put the chicken pieces in a large, resealable bag.
Pour marinade over chicken and seal bag. Squish everything around thoroughly to coat all chicken pieces. Allow to marinate in refrigerator for at least one hour, and up to 24 hours.
Make the Stew
Preheat oven to 325°. Gather and prep stew ingredients.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Use tongs to place chicken pieces in hot oil. Chicken should sizzle and pop immediately. If it doesn't, you need to heat the pan longer.
Brown chicken on two sides, 2-3 minutes on each side. Brown chicken in batches; do not not crowd the chicken in the pan. Remove browned chicken pieces from Dutch oven and set aside. Reserve any marinade left in the bottom of the marinating bag.
Reduce heat to medium. Add a little additional olive oil if the pot seems too dry. Add the sliced onions to the hot oil in pot.
In Dutch oven, sauté onions until translucent in whatever is left in the bottom after browning chicken.
To the onions in the Dutch oven; add coconut milk, tomato paste, white wine, grated ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes more, then remove from heat.
Stir reserve marinade into the sauce.
Place chicken pieces back in Dutch oven on top of sauce.
Put the cubed vegetables on top of the chicken. Cover Dutch oven tightly and place in middle of preheated oven.
Cook for 2 hours at 325°F | 163°C. (See Cooking Times in notes)
Using tongs or a slotted spoon, carefully remove chicken pieces from stew. (At this point, the vegetables should all be tender, and the chicken should be nearly falling off the bone.)Carefully toss the cooked vegetables in the sauce at the bottom of the Dutch oven.
Replace the chicken in the stew and serve; alone or over rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
Cooking Times: (Longer cooking time will result in more tender chicken and richer stew.)
300°F | 149°C → 3 hours
325°F | 163°C → 2 hours (Recommended)
350°F | 177°C → 1½ hours
Root Vegetables: Use a totalof 3 lbs /1.3 kg of any combo of potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams (orange or red sweet potatoes), carrots, and plantain. For the stew pictured here, I used:
1 large sweet potato
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 medium yam*
3 medium carrots
Brown Sugar: Use an additional tablespoon of brown sugar if you do not use a yam.Jalapeños:Seeds = Spice; remove them if desired. Even with the seeds, the end result is a very mildly spiced stew.