Food, Glorious Food

I’m sure those of you who know us well are already shocked beyond measure that we have yet to write anything about  the food in Kenya. Rest assured, we are aware of our transgression and ready to provide a remedy forthwith.

So, first up on the blocks we have ugali. A staple of the Kenyan diet, ugali is made from maize flour stirred into boiling water to form a kind of stodgy white mass – it is not unreminiscent of Smash.  When ready, you roll small pieces into balls in your hand, make a dent and use it to scoop up whatever else you are eating. Certain tribes in Kenya are inclined to say that if you haven’t eaten ugali in a day, you haven’t eaten. Our opinion: it’s alright – mostly starch.

In at two is sukuma wiki, which is very similar to Kale.  It’s a tasty green that goes well fried with onion, garlic and spices. Again, Kenya would grind to a halt without sukuma, and every veg plot and scrap of land is likely to get filled with plants.  Sukuma wiki is Kiswahili for ‘push the week’, as it is a very cheap vegetable it can help you push your budget for the week. Our opinion: getting our greens at rock bottom prices, and best name for a food, ever.

Nyoma Choma, the third element in the triumvirate of the classic Kenyan meal, is roast meat usually roast beef. You see meat carcasses hanging in the window of many restaurants and also many bars that serve it. The meat is hung unrefrigerated and with a few flies hanging around but that hasn’t stopped us trying it. It is usually dry roasted over an open flame with very little seasoning and in many places you buy it by weight. Once cooked it s brought out to you and chopped in front of you to be picked up with your ball of ugali.

Next we have chapattis, which we think will have arrived in Kenya via India. Fresh chapattis are super delicious – crisp and slightly floury – and are a nice breakfast snack. Our opinion: we like, and may have to invest in a chapatti pan to make them. Strangely, we ordered some tacos in a place called Tacos and we were served chapattis: we couldn’t figure it out either.

Mandazi are Kenyan doughnuts formed into triangular shapes to be taken with chai.  Generally, sweet pastries in Kenya are not as sweet as the western pastries we are used to, although the way chai is taken certainly makes up for it.

Chai or tea is by far the most popular hot beverage in Kenya. Tea in Kenya is made very milky with powdered milk and as many sugars as a person can stand. In the offices in which we work, up to 7 sugars is not unusual (you can see why they don’t mind unsweetened pastries).

Whilst coffee (kahawa) is a major export commodity for Kenya, the most popular version of it is instant coffee and the quality is poor. This has been a source of frustration amongst the coffee addicts in the group. Just finding a cafetiere was quite difficult, and upon its discovery a Kenyan with us commented: ‘Why don’t you drink instant? It’s exactly the same but much quicker.’ Why indeed, my friends, why indeed.

The fresh fruit and veg in Kenya is awesome. The area around Nairobi is good farmland and even in the city people try to ease the household budget by growing their own fruit and veg, and sometimes by keeping goats, chickens or even cows (our journey home today got interrupted by the cows and goats being herded along the road).  We have enjoyed amazing pineapples, mangos, bananas, mini-bananas, tomatoes and avocados. Yum, yum, yum...