While working on the recipe for this month’s Featured Grantee’s country, I took a moment to reflect on how much I have enjoyed being on the recipe team at Dining for Women. It has sparked the return of a world map to the wall of my kitchen, so I know where each country is geographically. It has also deepened my appreciation for the women of the world who manage to prepare delicious, nutritious meals for their loved ones no matter how scarce the resources at hand.

This month’s recipe is Yassa Poulet from the Mali, a West African country. While this recipe uses chicken, it can also be made with fish as the protein.

While researching Malian cuisine, I ran across a Malian tea ritual that consisted of three small cups of tea, each cup increasingly sweeter. The first cup is bitter to represent death, the second cup is lightly sweetened to represent life, and the third cup is very sweet to represent love. I have included a recipe for Malian lemongrass tea so we can all share a little love with our meal.

Questions or comments? Feel free to email me at georgia.dfw.recipes@gmail.com.

Yassa Poulet

Ingredients:

4 lb. chicken thighs
5 yellow onions, thinly sliced
2 lemons, thinly sliced
3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbsp ground mustard
3/4 to 1 tbsp cayenne pepper, to taste
1 tbsp thyme
1/2 cup peanut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add all the ingredients, except for the oil, to a large bowl and mix. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Brown the marinated chicken thighs for 5 minutes on each side and set aside. Remove the onions and lemons from the marinade and brown them for 10 minutes.

Add the rest of the marinade and the browned chicken thighs to the onions and lemons. Add 2 cups water, reduce heat and simmer until chicken is fully cooked*, about 45 minutes.
Serve with rice, millet, or couscous.

*Internal temperature for fully cooked chicken is 165 Fahrenheit.

Recipe and photo credit: Georgia Reader