The typical Kenyan lives and eats quite simply. Ugali, a starchy gruel, is the dietary foundation of most Kenyans. In its more traditional form ugali was made by mixing sorghum or millet flour with water and cooking it to a thick paste. White cornmeal is more often used these days, which makes an ugali similar to to Italian polenta. This thick porridge is usually served with a stew. The diner pulls off a piece of ugali with his or her hand, forms an indentation the thumb, and uses it to scoop up the stew.
Sukumu wiki, a dish of greens and tomatoes, is probably the most common accompaniment to ugali. Other popular stews include karanga (a meat and potato stew), githeri (stewed corn and beans) and mbaazi (black-eyed peas simmered in coconut milk). Wild and cultivated greens such as kale, pumpkin, cassava, cocoyam leaves...
Meat for most Kenyans is generally reserved for special occasions. Dried meat for stews. as well as pieces of meat or dried fish added to dishes. Beef, goat, mutton and camel are all eaten. Nyama choma, or fire-roasted beef, is very popular with ugali and a good Kenyan beer. Chicken (kuku) is popular as well, as is both fresh and dried fish.
Various legumes stand in for meat in many dishes. Cowpeas, kidney beans, groundnuts (similar to peanuts). Stewed or mashed with starches.
All types of bananas, cassava, taro, potatoes, yams, rice and coconut milk and spices on coast. mango papaya, melons, jackfruit, baobab.
Dining Habits
Simpler cooking inland, traditional dishes. Some national (ugali, irio, githeri). Coastal and city cooking more elaborate.
Breakfast is traditionally a sour porridge called uji. Or tea and bread.
Street snacks are very popular in the larger cities of Nairobi and Mombasa. There you can find stands selling grilled corn on the cob, samosas or mandazi.
Sour milk. Beer, changaa. Chai. Big beer drinkers. Pombe brewed at Tusker beer. "Many homemade brews such as changaa can also consumed and are made from milk, honey, or other produce."
Typical Kenyan DishesVichangamsha Kinywa (Snacks & Appetizers)
Mahindi ya Kuchoma (Roast corn on the cob)
Samosas (Deep-fried potato pastries)
Saladi (Salads)
Kachumbari (Cabbage salad)
Supu na Michuzi (Soups & Stews)
Karanga (Meat and potato stew)
Kuku (Poultry)
Kuku Choma (Roast chicken)
Kuku na Nazi (Chicken with coconut milk)
Nyama (Meats)
Kariokor (Barbequed meat)
Kima (Ground beef stew)
Mutura and Mahu (Kenyan sausage)
Nyama Choma (Fire-roasted beef)
Nyama na Irio (Steak with potato-pea puree)
Samaki (Fish & Seafood)
Mtuzi wa Samaki (Fish in coconut milk curry)
Ngege (Tilapia)
Omena Stew (Dried-fish & tomato stew)
Samaki wa Kukaanga (Lime-marinated fish steaks)
Mboga na Maharagwe (Vegetables & Beans)
Githeri (Corn and beans)
Kunde (Black-eyed peas & tomatoes)
Irio (Mashed, peas, potatoes and corn)
Matoke (Simmered plantains)
M'Baazi (Black-eyed peas with coconut milk)
Ndizi (Bananas cooked in banana leaves)
Sukuma Wiki (Greens & tomatoes; see Greens recipe notes)
Yam Stew
Mikate na Mapunje (Breads & Grains)
Chapati (Pan-baked flatbread)
Kabuli (Rice pilaf with dried seafood)
Pilau (Rice pilaf with meat)
Ugali (Cornmeal mush)
Wali wa Nazi (Coconut rice)
Tamu (Desserts)
Kashata (Coconut sweets)
Maandazi (Fried pastries)
Omukati kwe Lisotsi (Banana cornmeal cake)
Vinywaji (Beverages)
Chai (Spiced tea)
Changaa (Home-brewed beer)
Kahawa (Coffee)
Maziwa Lala (Soured milk)
Mnazi (Palm wine)
Muratina (Sausage tree fruit beer)
Chamshakinywa (Breakfast)
Uji (Fermented porridge)
Below are some simple kenyan recipes:
OYSTERS MOMBASABaked with a Wine Garlic Sauce
Yield: 8 portions (4 oysters per person)
Nowhere are oysters more delicious than on the east coast of Africa (except for the tiny Olympia oysters you get at Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco or in New Orleans).
In Kenya, the oysters are opened and each one goes on its own tiny china ramekin or tiny container which looks like a miniature coaster. Twelve of these little dishes are placed on a large platter with a bowl of dark, dark-red cocktail sauce and slices of lemon. Mombasa, that lovely city on the coast of Kenya, boasts the very best of these small oysters.
Open 32 SMALL OYSTERS (Bluepoints or Olympias if possible).
Leave them on the half shell and place on baking sheets.
Wine Garlic Sauce:
Combine: 1/2 cup MELTED BUTTER
4 cloves GARLIC very finely minced
1 cup CHABLIS
4 Tbs. CHOPPED PARSLEY
1 tsp. SALT
1 tsp. FRESHLY GROUND PEPPER
few drops TABASCO
Ladle half of above sauce (1 tsp. per oyster) on each one.
Bake at 350'F. for 6 to 8 minutes.
Ladle the remaining sauce uniformly over the oysters again.
Serve immediately, four per person, with LEMON WEDGES on a 9 inch plate (or on hot rock salt if available).
NYAMA NA IRIOSteak and Irio
Yield: 8 portions
The Irio:
Drain 1 16-oz. can PEAS and measure the liquid.
Put the peas through a vegetable mill or sieve to make a puree.
Drain 1 16-oz. can KERNEL CORN and add the liquid to that of the peas.
In a 2-quart saucepan:
Prepare 4 cups INSTANT MASHED POTATOES following package directions and using the vegetable liquors as part of the required liquid.
Add: 3 Tbs. BUTTER
1 tsp. SALT
1/4 tsp. PEPPER.
Blend the puree of peas into the mashed potatoes until a smooth green color results.
Fold in the drained kernel corn.
The consistency should be that of firm mashed potatoes.
The Steak:
In a large skillet:
Cut 3 Ibs. FILET MIGNON (or any steak) in a 2 x 1/2 x 1/2-inch strips.
Saute in 4 oz. MARGARINE OR OIL, until lightly browned.
Remove the steak from the skillet.
Blend in 6 Tbs. FLOUR to make a roux.
Add 2 cups ONION SOUP made from a packaged mix and cook to medium-sauce consistency.
Correct the Seasoning with salt, pepper, and a little Tabasco.
Return the steak to the sauce.
Make a large mound (about 1 cup) of Irio in center of dinner plate.
Form a hole in the center about 2 inches in diameter.
Fill the hole with 1/2 cup of the sauteed steak and gravy.
Smooth around edges of the Irio so it looks like a volcano.
SALADIEast African Salad Relish
Yield: Relish for 8 salads
This salad relish is added to and mixed with the hot spicy food by the guest a little at a time to "cool" the spiciness of the dish and change its texture. If the hostess feels that her dinner is not "hot" enough, a small hot chili pepper is added to the relish.
She may also serve individually or in a bowl additional pilli-pilli or hot red pepper dissolved in lemon or tomato sauce. See page 128 for Pilli-pilli Sauce and its variations. For your Kenyan dinner you might have a cruet of a white French dressing on the table for those who might want to add it to their salad.
In a 1-quart bowl:
Combine: 2 cups CABBAGE, finely shredded
1/2 cup CARROTS in very, very thin slices
1/2 cup SWEET ONIONS (Bermuda or Spanish or scallions)
1/4 cup GREEN PEPPER in fine strips.
Fluff the mixture up.
That's it. There is no dressing or seasoning.
Fill small sauce dishes, allowing about 1/3 cup per person.
COUPE MOUNT KENYAMango Ice Cream
Yield: 1 quart ice cream
Any fruit ice cream will serve for the Coupe Mount Kenya, especially peach ice cream. Fruit sherbet may also be used. Canned pineapple may be substituted for the fresh, but it does not have the same zing.
Mash 4 or 5 RIPE MANGOS, peeled and pitted. There should be 2 cups.
Whip: 1 cup HEAVY CREAM with
1/2 cup SUGAR until stiff.
In a 2-quart bowl:
Combine: 2 cups MASHED MANGOS
2 Tbs. LEMON PEEL cut in tiny ribbons
1/2 cup CONDENSED MILK
1/2 tsp. SALT.
Fold in the whipped cream.
Pour into freezer trays or a 6-cup mold and freeze.
PINEAPPLE RUM SAUCEYield: 1 quart sauce mixture
In a 1-quart sauce pan:
Simmer: 1 cup PINEAPPLE JUICE (canned) and
1 cup SUGAR until it dissolves and a syrup is formed.
Add 1/2 cup WHITE RUM. Cool.
In a 2-quart bowl:
Cut 3 cups FRESH PINEAPPLE in 1/2-inch dice.
Pour the Pineapple Rum Sauce over the pineapple.
Marinate for several hours.
Place 1 scoop MANGO ICE CREAM in a 6-oz. wine glass.
Top with 3 to 4 oz. PINEAPPLE RUM MIXTURE
Garnish with 1 Tbs. PISTACHIO NUTS, coarsely chopped.
You can find more kenyan recipes on the following links:
http://www.allthingskenyan.com/food.htmlhttp://www.kenyatravelideas.com/http:///www.whats4eats.com
