3/24 -- The Food

I just received an email from a friend back home who wondered what the food is like. Well, it just so happens that I've been compiling a list of Kenyan dishes we've encountered. So here it is:

Ugali (ooh-gall-ee) AKA Sima (see-muh) -- A maize-meal and water, stewed beyond polenta consistency to something more like a mass. Hot, bland, a member of the "sauce vehicle" food group

Uji (ooh-gee) -- Maize flour with boiled water to form a wet porridge. A light breakfast option, but sadly sometimes the only thing available to poor children to start the day. (UPDATE) Also can be a porridge mixture of crushed nuts, spices, etc. Provides some basic nutrition very cheaply, and according to Mina it "feeds the nation." As such, it is at once the least that one can offer to a guest and at the same time an offer of uji is a great honor not to be turned down...even if your mug of bitter, lukewarm porridge isn't exactly causing you to salivate profusely.

Chapati -- Same as you're used to from Indian food, often served with meals.

Githeri (gui [like guillotine]- teh-ree) -- A stew (of various liquidity) of maize and beans, sometimes served with nyama

Mataha (mah-tah-ha) -- Githeri mashed up with mashed potatoes, plantains, or other tubers.

Matumbo (mah-tomb-oh) -- Stewed goat intestines and sundry digestive organs in an oily, stewy broth. Amazing when cooked tenderly.


White Tea/Coffee -- Instead of boiled water, (instant) milk is used. Try it if you haven't already! (NB: Kenyans take their tea like Indians, or chai-style with lots of milk and sugar.)

(M)andazi ([m]an-dah-zee) -- (Not everyone pronounces the 'M'. Fried dough, formed into either a large triangle or a solid, multi-folded mass.

Pojo (poh-joh) -- Mung bean stew

Nyama (ny-ah-mah) -- Goat meat, the most popular (and maybe available?) kind of meat here. Avoid when roof-dried.

Mboga (m-bow-gah) -- Boiled vegetables, especially shredded sukuma wiki, which is a close relative to collard greens.

Pilau (peel-ow) -- Fried meat with gently spiced rice

Amena (ah-may-nah) -- Tiny dried fish whose eyeballs are about 25% of their volume, rehydrated in salty, fishy stew with vegetables. A Lake Victoria specialty, and quite delicious when done right.

Bon Apetit!

-K