SEKELA CHICKEN ( BBQ CHICKEN )

Hmmm, sekela chicken is one of the best street food you can ever eat in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, my home country. There are many other street foods to devour but this is the best. People from abroad also come to experience it. You can find small stands of jikos on the corners of the streets in the evenings, where the chicken pieces and other meat like mishkakis, meat kebabs are grilled and then served with chips, kachumbari and pili pili mbuzi sauce and not forgetting a chilled coke. The whole atmosphere is just something else. I miss that here in Nairobi. So, I decided to bring the sekela to my kitchen. Do try it, you will definitely like it. Enjoy! 

Serves 4

Time: 1 hour for marinating + 25-30 minutes of grilling

For the chicken

1 whole chicken cut in 4 pieces

1/2 cup yoghurt

1 tsp black pepper

Salt

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

2 tsp paprika or Kashmiri red chilli powder

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbs vinegar

1 tbs lemon juice

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tbs melted ghee

A pinch of yellow or red food colouring ( optional) 

*if you are using paprika, there is no need for food colour*

For the kachumbari

1 cup shredded cabbage

1/2 onion thinly sliced

1 tomato thinly sliced

1/2 tbs lemon juice

1 small scotch bonnet or hot pepper thinly sliced

Salt & pepper

Tamarind sauce

1/2 cup tamarind pulp

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt

1-2 tsp sugar 

Method

Mix all the ingredients of the marination and let it stand for 5 minutes so that can marry well.

Take chicken pieces and rub in the marination well. Make sure the marination is rubbed in the deep cuts. Leave it aside for 40 to 45 minutes. Overnight is better. 

Cook the chicken on charcoals or in the oven, basting the marinade and ghee. 

To make the kachumbari, mix the grated cabbage, onions and tomatoes with lemon juice, salt and pepper and scotch bonnet peppers. Toss it well.

To make the Tamarind sauce, boil tamarind pulp with water, salt, sugar and red chilli powder. Keep it aside to cool.

Serve the sekela with chips, kachumbari and tamarind sauce on the side.