April 15, 2024

KENYA: NYAMA CHOMA BBQ LAMB with MUKIMO MASH and KACHUMBARI SALAD

Located on the equator in East Africa, Kenya sweeps from dry desert sand dunes to wet tropical rainforests; up soaring snow-capped mountains that cradle disappearing glaciers; across vast grassland reserves where the last wild lions, elephants, buffalo, leopard, and rhinoceros roam; then down, down to palm-fringed beaches lapped by the turquoise waters of the Indian Ocean.

Across these diverse landscapes live more than 40 distinct Indigenous communities of people each with their own language, culture and traditional food production practices linked to their homelands. So Kenyan culture is made up of not one but many voices, stories and trends. Similarly, no single dish can define Kenya’s culinary history which is as vast as the country itself.

Having Indian Ocean sea ports located on historic shipping trade routes between Europe, the Middle East and India played a significant role over several centuries in shaping Kenya’s food story. Indian spices such as curry, cumin and coriander, along with Middle Eastern marinating techniques have been embraced into Kenyan cooking. In addition, many foods that are now staples in Kenya including potatoes, peppers, tomatoes and corn (that were originally from South America), were introduced by European traders.

But Europeans didn’t introduce the idea of trade to Kenya. Kenyans had been engaging in trade with other parts of East Africa for many centuries pre-colonisation. These traditions continue today with neighbouring countries South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda and in border regions Kenyan people still exchange culinary practices and fresh produce such as plantains, beans and pineapples with their neighbours. These relationships have become more critical in recent years with drought and famine in the area impacting millions of people in Ethiopia, Somalia and northern Kenya.

Mothers and children are the hardest hit in this food crisis. UNICEF-Kenya are on the ground helping children and mothers with sever malnutrition to access urgent food assistance. As my aim with Q-Zine is to share and support the food stories of multicultural communities I gave a donation and if you feel you can give something to help here is the link: https://www.unicef.org/kenya/support

Either way, I hope you check out and try these fantastic Kenyan recipes.

our

KENYAN

Menu included

NYAMA CHOMA BBQ LAMB

with

MUKIMO MASH

and

KACHUMBARI SALAD

NYAMA CHOMA BBQ LAMB

INGREDIENTS:

· 1 boned shoulder of lamb or goat (see notes)

· 6 cloves garlic, crushed

· 12 cm fresh ginger, peeled and crushed

· Juice of 1 large lemon

· 2 tbs olive oil

· 2 tsp ground cumin

· 2 tsp ground paprika

· Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

· 2 hot chilli peppers sliced (optional)

NOTE: Nyama Choma is most often made with boned-out shoulder of goat but lamb is a popular replacement, as are goat/lamb spare ribs and bone-in leg chops. It is also often made with beef so feel free to cook what you can access.

METHOD:

1. Use a small knife to cut small slits in the meat about 5 cm apart

2. Salt the meat all over

3. Mix the ginger, garlic, paprika, cumin, lemon juice, pepper, chilli and olive oil together and rub well into the meat

4. Let the meat marinade in the fridge for 2 hours or longer, turning and giving it a bit of a rub every 30 mins or so to ensure even marinating

5. When you are ready to begin BBQing take the meat out of the fridge and let it come up to room temperature as you heat the BBQ plate to high

6. Grill the meat on high for 3-5 mins on each side to brown then turn the heat back to medium and cover with BBQ lid, a metal oven tray or aluminium foil to create an ‘oven’ effect

7. Now cook on medium-low heat turning often until meat is tender but not over-cooked– about 40 minutes – this will depend on what cut of meat you are cooking – if it has the bone in it might take an hour

TIP: If the meat starts to dry out sprinkle it with some salty water mixed with olive oil

8. When the meat is cooked it needs to rest and relax for about 20 minutes to stay tender. Turn the BBQ off, keep the meat covered on the BBQ as it cools down or alternatively transfer it to a dish and cover with foil.

9. TIP: The good thing about the dish resting method is that you can catch meat juices that can be poured back over the meat when it is finally served

10. Once the meat has rested you can carve it into slices and serve it (this step is not necessary if you are cooking spare ribs or chops)

MUKIMO MASH

Also know as IRIO, Mukimo is a staple food in many parts of Kenya

INGREDIENTS:

· 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut in 2 cm pieces (or 1 potato per person)

· 3 cups green peas, fresh or frozen

· 1 ½ cups sweet corn kernels, fresh or frozen

· 2 tbs butter

· salt and ground pepper to taste

OPTIONAL VARIATIONS:

Þ substitute fresh peas/corn with tinned/dried red beans/corn

Þ Add chopped kale, spinach, swiss chard or pumpkin leaves

Þ on special occasions boil sweet potato/green banana with the potato

METHOD:

1. Put potatoes in a large pot add 2 tsp salt, cover with cold water and bring to the boil, then turn back heat and simmer until fork tender – about 20 mins

2. When you add the peas and corn depends on if they are fresh or frozen

3. If using fresh corn that is cut off the cob it will need to cook for 20 minutes so as soon as the potatoes come to the boil you should put the corn in and bring the pot back to the simmer and cook for 20 minutes

4. Fresh peas also need to be cooked for 20 minutes so if using them follow instructions for step 3

5. If you are using frozen corn/peas cook the potatoes on simmer for 15 minutes then bring the pot up to a rapid boil and drop in the frozen veg

NOTE: don’t thaw out the vegetables before cooking; throw them in frozen

6. Now bring the pot back up to the boil, give it a stir and turn the heat back to simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes or until potatoes are tender

7. When potatoes are fork tender, drain the vegetables through a colander, let them steam off a bit then put the potato mix back into the hot cooking pot

8. Use a wooden spoon to fold the butter through the potato mix then mash with a potato masher until smooth

9. Add salt and pepper and fold through, mash again if you need to then your dish is ready to serve

KACHUMBARI SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

· 1 medium to large red onion, peeled and diced finely (see notes)

· 2 large or 4 medium tomatoes, diced

· 1 large green bell pepper / capsicum, deseeded and diced finely

· juice of 2 limes or 4 tbs white vinegar

· 2 tbs olive oil

· 2 tbs chopped fresh coriander/cilantro leaves

· salt and black pepper to taste

· chopped fresh green chilli or ground dried chilli flakes to taste - optional

NOTE: Prepare the onion as per step 1 of the METHOD a bit ahead of time but try to make the rest of the salad as close to serving as possible to keep it fresh

METHOD:

1. Mix the onion and lime juice together and soak for at least half an hour to sweeten the onion and make it more digestible

2. Mix the diced tomatoes, bell pepper and chilli with the onion and lime

3. Add salt, pepper and chilli to taste then fold in the olive oil and cilantro

4. Refrigerate until ready to serve

These are all Q-ZINE original recipes informed by multiple sources including but not limited to: