Frango com Quiabo

A traditional Minas Gerais dish: chicken pieces (typically thighs and legs, often a free-range caipira bird) browned and slow-cooked with sliced okra (quiabo), tomato, onion, garlic, and bay leaf, finished with parsley or coriander. Often served with angu (a Minas-style polenta made from yellow cornmeal) and white rice. The signature is the savoury slow-cooked chicken, the okra's distinctive vegetable character (more textural than assertive in flavour, with a subtle grassy register and a slightly viscous quality from the natural mucilage), the tomato base, and the herbal finish. Comfort food rather than centrepiece: homely, gentle, and unfussy. The wine must handle slow-cooked chicken weight and tomato acidity without overwhelming the okra's gentle vegetable register.