Mineiro slave-and-master kitchens of the 1700s mining era — okra brought by enslaved West Africans, chicken from settlers, cornmeal from indigenous Tupi heritage. Tri-cultural dish.
Tender chicken in green okra-thickened gravy that's just slightly slippery; the soft angu underneath absorbs everything.
Okra's natural mucilage thickens the gravy without flour; the lemon juice added at the end mellows the okra's slipperiness while preserving the thickening.
Variations
With pequi fruit (frango com quiabo e pequi) is the Goiás-Minas variant. Vegetarian uses just okra and pumpkin.
On the Palate
Where Frango com Quiabo sits in the Brazilian flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
4 steps · 1 hour active + 1 hour waiting
- 110 min
Brown 1 whole chicken (jointed) in oil 10 min with 1 chopped onion + 4 garlic.
Watch outBrown the chicken pieces properly, don't just pale them — a real golden crust on the skin is where the gravy gets its depth.
- 230 min
Add 800 ml chicken stock + 2 chopped tomatoes + bay; simmer covered 30 min.
- 35 min
Slice 400 g okra into 1 cm rounds; sauté separately in oil 5 min to reduce slime.
Watch outSauté the okra on its own first until the slippery threads cook off and the edges brown — skip this and the whole pot turns slimy.
- 415 min
Add okra to chicken pot; simmer 15 min; finish with juice of 1 lemon; serve over angu.
Watch outSqueeze the lemon in right at the end — the acid cuts the last of the slipperiness but keeps the gravy's natural body, so don't add it early.
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