There is ALWAYS more than one way of preparing a dish. ALWAYS!!!! While we may have our personal favorites that we may prefer to stick to for one reason or another, there is no harm in exploring other options. I have always had mbaazi cooked in coconut milk, and I one day wondered how else could I prepare them and still bring out the amazing taste mbaazi inherently has? Coz just like everything else, there is more than one way of cooking mbaazi!! I asked you guys on twitter and my mind was opened up to all the different ways you make them. Velma Kiome (@mzinduzi) loves her’s with courgettes, carrots, matoke or potato, fresh herbs and spices of choice and she prefers that her mbaazi are fresh and green and not the dried kind. Chululups (@miss_patriciah) uses mbaazi instead of beans in her githeri plus with lots of veggie assortment and cooked as a dry fry. She taught me this dish is called Gítherí a njūgū (I love learning from my tweeps! Need to try it out!!). For me, besides having them in coconut milk, I like mine as a rich stew, similar to a bean stew, but with rich full flavors of garlic and thyme! Ready to step out of your comfort zone and try out something different? Buckle up!!
Category: Main (Page 17 of 37)
I had not anticipated to be cooped up at home the entire week, last week. I thought we would have a maximum of 2 days off for the election break then everything would be back to normal. With a full week of having nothing much to do, I decided to put off my prep for September recipes and instead give myself a much needed break. And I am now recharged and ready to embark on new projects! I slept to my fill. I caught up on series I stopped watching years ago (can you believe I stopped watching Vampire Diaries at the start of season 4?!). I ate so much too! Well, I eat a lot on usual days but last week’s eating was just hedonistic! One of my FAVORITE things I ate last week were these chili chicken wings in orange whiskey sauce. Hot. Meaty. boozy and oh so perfect for cool August! I know you will fall in love with this recipe as much as I did! <3
I have always loved kamande. In my opinion, they are low key more lit than ndengu, but because they are slightly more expensive than ndengu they have become a once in a while thing for me. But when I do prepare them, I eat them every single day of the week until they run out. I grew to love them even more when I used to be in the 8-5 grind. The place I used to work before I took on Food Blogging full time used to give us lunch! Such a blessing that was. On Wednesday, kamande was on the list and served with roti and okra. I lived for this day!! Literally started counting down to lunch time the moment I sat on my desk at 8 a.m. LOL! And I was always first on the queue! No shame 😀
As a celebration of the meal I used to enjoy most at my former work place, I gave kamande some #K treatment. I hope that you too enjoy my chili oregano kamande.
Nairobi evenings can be bitterly cold this time of year. All I ever think about at the close of each day is getting home, having a blisteringly hot shower, slipping into some warm socks and having a hot cup of tea with my favorite biscuits (of course after some supper :))) As I raced towards my matatu stage, I glanced down at the goodies hawkers were selling and momentarily stopping to purchase some things, as usual! After bagging an amazing faux leather coat and cute doll shoes, I couldn’t let myself head home without some veggies! “Madam kuja uchague fresh!!” (Madam come and select fresh ones!!”); one of the lady hawkers exclaimed to me as she stacked her broccoli heads one over the other. I stopped, slowly selected my four broccoli as the droves of people pushed against me on the streets. As I paid, she told me to try make soup with them; that it would be delicious and that I would enjoy it. I thanked her for the veggies and for the idea as that is exactly what I was going to do- make a hearty delicious soup with my broccoli.
My favorite soup yet has got to be this thyme chili broccoli soup! So light and so delicious you will need 700 bowls before you are completely full! So perfect for chilly Nairobi this August! Mtapenda! <3
I have been doing a back to basics series on my Instagram Stories for a couple of months now. I have not done one in quite a long time though (sorry guys :((((, life got in the way. ). Some of the recipe request I got were too detailed to be done as a back to basics so I will instead post them as blog posts; and my coconut milk chili bean stew is one of them. One of my followers requested for a bean stew, thought there is one I posted in 2015, I decided to make one that is richer and in my opinion of fuller flavor. What would a Kenyan food blog be without a coconut milk bean stew be after all?! 😉
With warming flavors of chili and garlic, this one soooo perfect for July-August when it is much cooler in Kenya. And I promise, it is so easy to make too <3
I get excited when my readers from outside Kenya get excited and curious about Kenyan food. I get even more giddy when they try the recipes out!! I got a call one late evening a fortnight ago from a New York Times editor curious to know how I make kuku wa kupaka. “There are many variations of the recipe, but how do you make yours special?” She asked. I explained to her exactly how I usually make mine, detailed it for her New York Times article and I thought it would also be dope if I shared the recipe with you guys right here. My kuku wa kupaka recipe (which is basically chicken cooked in a coconut sauce) is easy, delicious and regardless of your nationality, you will be able to try this out and enjoy it as well. <3
After a long day, I just had to make one more run and dash to City Market and buy some fish fillet. It was a pretty hot afternoon, and I just wanted to get home, but I knew what I prepare for dinner make would make the short trip worth while. I got to city market and was pleased to see that they had plenty of freshly filleted fish. I slowly weaved my way through the small market, quietly but very intensely surveying each stock. The sellers, ever eager to earn an extra coin, would try woo anyone that walks through in. “Sister wacha nikifungie fresh” (Sister let me pack some fresh ones for you) “Mrembo kwani leo hununui kwangu?” (Are you not buying from me today?) “Brenda si leo nikufungie wings” (Let me pack some wings from you, Brenda.) My name is not Brenda by the way, they were literally guessing LOL! I finally settled on one vendor I passed just at the entrance and got myself a juicy cut of tilapia fillet. I rushed home, rested a little bit and embarked on making my dinner. I wanted something delicious, so I had to deliver on all the flavors. And let me tell you, I was not disappointed and totally blown away!! I made this again this past Sunday when we had guests over and it was a hit! And today, I share the recipe to my garlic grilled tilapia fillet with lime coconut milk sauce.