The words African and platter, combined together makes my mouth salivate and my tummy rumble. Although I hate map reading, or hated map reading back then in geography class, when it comes to food… I am an “A” student always. hahahaha!
Located on the eastern part of the map of Africa, we would be discussing a national dish which is very popular, eaten in most homes, and served at most pubs or restaurants; Ugali and Sukumawiki
This duo are a universally eaten meal in Kenya cutting across the top cuisines of the coastal country. The name Sukuma wiki, which means “to push the week”, is gotten from Swahili, and is a simple dish made with greens, mostly eaten with Ugali. Ugali on the other hand, is a maize meal, that comes out as a stiff white porridge used as a dipping. These combo are served majorly for lunch or dinner.
Just because Ugali does not take so long to prepare, we would be starting off with the renown SukumaWiki. We would list below the ingredients and the instructions on how to make it.
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil (vegetable oil)
- 1 large red onions, finely diced
- 450g kale, sliced into thin strips
- Salt to taste
- 1-2 cups whip cream
- Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet or pot over medium heat until it shimmers. Add onions stirring occasionally, until softened, for 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add the sliced kale to the onions and mix properly. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and cook for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, remove the lid, add your salt to taste, and stir in the whip cream. Cook for another 5 minutes, uncover lid, stirring occasionally. The whip cream will thicken slightly, making for a deliciously rich creamed kale and onions.
- Serve with your favorite Kenyan stew, and a side of Ugali!
(P.S. Feel free to explore and add other details to your SukumaWiki, but the basics of the; kale, onions, vegetable oil and salt are constant)
For the Ugali, it’s quite straight forward.
- 2 cups water
- 1½ cups medium or coarse-ground white/yellow cornmeal
- Boil in a medium pot or sauce pan.
- Reduce heat to low, and stir continuously with a whisk, while slowly adding cornmeal to the boiling water. The Ugali will then begin to thicken quickly.
- Continue to cook on low heat, while stirring until the ugali begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and hold together, and then begins to take on the aroma of roasted corn. Turn it out immediately onto a serving plate. And then shape it into a thick disk or round circle.
- The ugali will continue to firm as it cools, and becomes thick enough to cut with a knife
- Serve it up with your Sukuma Wiki.
So whenever you find yourself in Kenya or a Kenyan restaurant, make sure to try it out. Or when next you want to entertain friends to a taste of Africa, feel free to explore your culinary skills and create this mouth-watering dish. Try this dish at home, and rate in below in the comment section.
Watch the video below to see a setp by step process in making this dish;
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(All images are via google image)
