My Traditional Kenyan Dish

What comes to my mind when the word traditional dish pops up is my grandma Rachel! She is the brain behind all the traditional dishes I know .What is that recipe title that makes headlines when you hear it? What is your story? what is that ingredient? What is the method or procedure that makes your recipe?

Cookpad Kenya is introducing to you the online contest “My Traditional Kenyan Dish contest”.Where you get to share with the world that one meal or many that take you back to your roots!

How well do you know the origin traditional foods?

Kenya is a multi — racial society and the traditional Kenyan foods reflect the different lifestyles, most of the dishes are filling and inexpensive to make.Most of the staple food dates back to 1496 when Portuguese arrived in Kenyan coast and introduced food like maize, bananas, pineapple, chilies, pepper, sweet potatoes and cassava.Oranges, lemon, pigs, and lime came from India and China.White potatoes cucumbers and tomatoes were introduced by British.Interestingly these foods were adopted regionally and adding to it the locally grown foods.

Central Kenya is popularly known for its love for tubers “ngwaci” sweet potatoes, “nduma” arrow roots, “ikwa” yams and “mianga” cassava. Beans and kikuyu beans “njahi” are popular legumes. Irio which is a delicious local dish, which consists of potatoes, peas and green vegetables and corn.Another common food in the region is mukimo and githeri which is a mix of beans and maize.

Residents along the coasts of the Indian Ocean and Lake Victoria often eat fish. Kenyans prepare fish fried, grilled or in curries and stews. Samaki na nazi is a curried fish and coconut milk dish. Mtuzi wa samaki is a baked fish in a spicy sauce. For samaki wa kukaanga, cooks season fishfillets with lemon juice, garlic and chile pepper before frying the fillets and serving them alongside rice.

Coastal Kenya also popular for awesome pilau dishes which is spiced rice and often consumed during the celebration, Bhajia which is viazi coated with corriander and chillies,”kaimati” which dumplings coated with sweet syrup and mahamri which is a donut like pastry made of coconut milk and cardamon.

Western Kenya is famous for its love of “ Ingokho” that is a chicken then served with ugali . They also eat these vegetables tsisaka,miroo,managu .Around Lake Victoria, “Kuon” ( ugali) and “rech” fish is the real deal also “gweno” (chicken) ,”Aliya” (sun dried meat),Interestingly they also indugle in “onyoso” some type of aunt, “Ng’wen” (termitoidae) , “dede” which grasshoppers and most definitely the green vegetables “Alode” including “osuga”,”Akeyo”, “Muto”, “Dodo” and “bo” all consumed with ugali.”Matoke” boiled of stewed banans is also popular in some parts of Western Kenya.

In the Rift valley “mursik” which is fermented mik and Kimnyet (ugali) is a popular . Vegetables consumed include “isageek”, “nderemek” ,”popat” mushrooms The staple food for Eastern Kenya people is “isiyo or “kitheli” which is maize mixed with beans or peas and ugali.Goat meat ,chicken and beef is highly consumed.Fruits and vegetables produced and consumed there include oranges, mangoes, bananas,cabbage and collards.

Let us make everyday cooking fun!