Ugali, Sukuma Wiki, and Chai Masala: Eating in Kenya

A woman in the village who sold me vegetables

       In Western Kenya, people eat ugali. Only ugali (ok, ok, I’m exaggerating, but just slightly).  The bulk of a Kenyan meal consists of ugali, accompanied by boiled vegetables and, if you can afford it, meat.
  

Ugali

       Ugali is made from ground maize that is then boiled in water—much like you would make grits or polenta, except less water (and zero seasoning) is added so that it forms a doughy consistency.  To eat, you pinch off a piece of ugali, roll it around in your hand a bit, and then use it to scoop up the vegetable, sauce, and/or meat.

How to eat ugali:

Foreigners generally aren’t fans, but Kenyans (literally) can’t get enough of the stuff.  “It is not a meal unless you have ugali,” “If you haven’t eaten ugali you haven’t eaten,” and “Ugali will make you strong” are the oft-used mantras when it comes to discussions of food. Kenyans could eat a plate of rice the size of your head, but if they haven’t had any ugali they will still complain of hunger.

Vegetables
       The most popular vegetable dish is sukuma wiki—sautéed kale with tomato and onion.  Translating into English as “to push the week,” sukuma wiki, as the cheapest dish available and therefore used to stretch meals, is pretty standard fare (try visiting Kenya without eating any ugali or sukuma wiki. I dare you.). Other popular dishes include sautéed/boiled pumpkin leaves, cabbage, and the slightly pricier lentils.  Sweet potatoes are a major crop, but I never saw my roommates cook them so I’m not sure how most Kenyans do it. If I had to guess I’d say they fry them in oil, as they do white potatoes (which they call “Irish Potatoes.” Side note: if you pronounce “potato” in the usual American way, you will get a blank stare in return. You know the phrase, “Potato/potato, tomato/tomato”? Kenyans pronounce these words in the second fashion—with a short “A”).

I don't remember the name of this vegetable, but students
came after school to help my roommates prepare it

Tea and Snacks
       Black tea, or chai, is hugely popular in Kenya. It is drunk from morning ’til night, in hot weather as well as cold.  The favorite way to drink it is with milk, spices, and large amounts of sugar—alternately called “milky tea” or “weak tea”.  “Strong tea” is made with tea, spices, and obscene amounts of sugar.  “Masala tea” is strong tea with the proportions inverted—heavier on the spices, but lighter on sugar (masala means “spiced”).  Most people buy a pre-made masala mix from the store, containing ground cloves, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, etc. 

Mandazi and chai: this photo makes me extremely hungry
(http://tinyurl.com/b69hn9w)

       Snacks in Kenya generally consist of various forms of fried dough.  The snacks available for sale in our school kitchen are chapati, a thin, oily, tortilla-like flatbread, and mandazi, which is best described as doughnut batter fried into little balls, squares, or triangles.  In larger towns or trading posts, the most readily available snack (apart from maize) is mandazi and boiled eggs.  This was my favorite combination on long journeys—when your matatu is stopped you can poke your head out of the window and, more often than not, a vendor will be nearby selling one or both from large buckets.  When a vendor only had one item, i.e., eggs, I could simply say, “Can you get me some mandazi, too?” and she/he would run off to find it for me.  Samosas, also popular, are my all-time favorite snack, but these are more difficult to find on the streets.