Mamy Coco’s Yassa Chicken

Starting this blog is probably one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Not only for all that it brings me, all the recipes I have tested in my kitchen, all the good dishes I have tasted, all the projects that come to fruition, but especially for the encounters I have made through it. I have been to Senegal several times and I was planning to make chicken Yassa one day, but in the proper way. It is done thanks to Mamy Coco, who since her retirement, launched out in the preparation of dishes that she sells on the markets or that she delivers at home in the city of Orleans and its area. She shares with us the secrets of her favorite dishes, as we will soon find her for her pastels and thieb bou dien. I will leave you his contact information as soon as possible if you want to order food from him.
So I went to Orleans to Mamy Coco’s house to cook with her the yassa chicken, this magnificent dish from Casamance. Made with onions, lemon juice and mustard, this chicken is wonderful with rice. Mamy Coco adds her personal touch with carrots and peppers to add a little color to this richly flavored dish. In Casamance, where it comes from, the yassa chicken is often less lemony and “mustarded” than those found today in Dakar, for example. It’s up to you to judge the amount of acidity that will best excite your taste buds!

Recipe of the chicken yassa of mamy coco:

-1 free-range chicken

-6 onions

-1 or 2 tablespoons of strong mustard
-2 to 3 small “maggi” cubes 

-the juice of 3 to 5 lemons

-2 tablespoons of oil 

-2 cloves of garlic

-1/2 green bell pepper
-1/2 red bell pepper

-3 carrots 
-salt, pepper

Cut the chicken into pieces.

Squeeze the juice from the lemons.

Put the onions and chicken in a container. Add lemon juice, crushed maggi cubes and hot mustard. Mix well and let macerate overnight in a cool place.

The next day, place the chicken without the juices and onions on a baking sheet. Heat up the grill of this one. You can of course grill the chicken on the barbecue, it will be even more typical…! When the oven is hot, place the chicken under the grill.

Meanwhile, put the onions without the juice in a large pot with the oil over fairly high heat. Let them cook for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring regularly.

We can see here the juice of the marinade that must be kept carefully…!

Peel the carrots and garlic cloves.

Cut the carrots on the bias, in “whistles” and add them to the onions.

Also add the chopped garlic cloves. Stir regularly, always over fairly high heat.

Keep an eye on the chicken, which should start to grill well.

Turn it over to grill the other sides.

When the chicken is nicely grilled (it’s not cooked, just grilled!), put it on the onions. Put a little water in the pan where the chicken was grilled to collect the juices.

Add the marinade at this time to the casserole and the water from the plate.

Finally, add water to 3/4 of the height of the chicken. Cover and cook for 25 to 30 minutes over low heat.

Mamy Coco found us a red and green bell pepper at the same time! As she puts half green and half red, she found with this one the solution.

Remove the lid and cook until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce thickens. It’s time to taste to adjust the seasoning by adding salt, pepper, lemon juice, mustard or even a piece of cube.

Serve hot with rice!

A big thank you to Mamy Coco for teaching me how to make this delicious Senegalese dish and especially for sharing it with us all! We will find her very soon for her beef pastries and the thieb bou dien!