Ugali
Hands down the most commonly consumed food in this area and probably Kenya. Technically it is a super-thick bland porridge made from cornmeal. It reminds me of the clay mixture I used to make with cornstarch when I was a kid. Ugali is eaten with your hands and usually eaten with stews - the Ugali can soak up the gravy of the stew
Sikuma Wiki
The greens seen on the plate above are Sikuma Wiki, a local green commonly eaten as part of a traditional Kenyan meal. The flavor and texture is strange, it is a boiled green similar to mustard greens but it has a texture like a firm wet paper and a flavor similar to Kale. The other type of commonly eaten green is Cowpees (which said in Swahili sounds like you maybe got the wrong kind of milk). Cowpees has more of the flavor and texture of spinach and is boiled.
Other fruits/veggies
Certain crops we are used to getting in America are grown here but must pass several tests. Since electricity and thus refrigeration are not in most homes, the fruits/veggies must be hardy or be so plentiful that they can be sold and consumed quickly. Common produce include roma tomatoes-the most hardy tomato from a spoil point because it contains the least amount of water inside! Small purple onions, greens, dried maize, potatoes, avocados (which are only about 15-20 cents US here) bananas, and rarely pineapples (which are expensive). Maize dominates all the above and is the main crop along with red beans in this area. Red beans and maize stew is a common food used to feed massive amounts of people (it’s what we ate at the orphan program). Rice is also used here, but doesn’t grow in the region and is shipped from outside.
There’s chapati in my mouth and everyone’s invited!
One of my favorite foods Emmah our housekeeper makes is Chapati and lentils. Chapati is a type of fried flatbread with a somewhat oily texture and outstanding flavor. When covered with her lentil stew it’s absolutely dynamite. Chapatis are commonly eaten everywhere here, usually with boiled red or kidney beans to help soak up the gravy. Emmah’s recipe for chapatis is the following (makes 2 chapatis, so you will probably want to triple this recipe).
1 cup flour
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup water
Mix the flour with salt and add water to make the dough-flatten the dough and spread oil on each side. Then roll the dough and cut into round flat pieces and pan fry them.
Meats (besides people)
Cows, chickens, and goats are found EVERYWHERE in Kenya. Many of the tribes in Kenya when they arrived here were herders of cattle - the Masai tribe being the most famous of them for stealing other tribe’s cattle and living on the blood of cows. Here herds of cows are seen walking down the side of the road and are often chomping on the grass a few feet from my front door. The hospital uses its native cows and chickens for an ever present source of milk and eggs. When you do need meat, you can do what we do and go to the Nakumatt (aka wal-mart) and get some meat, but only the white folks and rich people do that. The meat at the Nakumatt is prepackaged just like the kind you get in the store - the only difference is some of the meat - particularly chicken is MUCH smaller than the drumsticks you are used to getting at KFC and with far less meat. Score one for steroids and growth hormone injections! The majority of people end up getting their meat from roadside butchers (which I took plenty of pictures of). These small tin shacks usually have a hanging cow carcass hanging on a hook in front of you and the price is per kilo (about $1.40 US a pound). You tell the butcher how much you want and he brings out his trusty Panga (machete) and will cut off a piece of the cow-tendon, bone, and sinew and wrap it in newspaper. Small fish are also brought in from lake victoria and sold at market. Other meats besides goat, beef, and chicken are eaten as well.
While on our home visits today we came across a strange sight in the fields - a long flexible pole containing several wicker cages, each containing a quail. These poles were scattered in a roughly square shape and on the ground were a series of traps. I interviewed the land owner and he traps quails by using the calls of the caged quails to lure more quail into his area. Because quail do no fly very well, they walk on the ground to see what’s up and get stuck in the wooden traps on the ground. The farmer then sells the quails in the market for meat at 30 shillings each (about 40 cents US each).
There are not many restaurants that I have seen. Most of the small shops don’t have the capacity to be restaurants, so instead you might by some fried dough at one stand and some juice at another stand. The majority cook on their own, so eating out is a luxury in this economy. I have yet to see a single fast food restaurant since coming to Africa (although I have been in the sleepier part of Kenya).
Diet Nothing!
For somewhat obvious reasons, commercial foods you get in the supermarket actually have extra fats and calories over their American counterparts. Today, after 1 month, I finally found the only diet soda - Coke Light - which actually has about 70 calories! Foods are heavy in starch and calories and many things are corn (or maize) based because it grows well in this climate. Despite this, there are relatively few fat people here. The other day we had a patient that was 1 MU (or Memphis Unit-which is around 250 pounds, the average Memphis resident weight). The entire staff, including American Dr. Hardison, was scoffing at how fat this woman was and how could she let herself get like this. I have yet to this day, to find a man here that weighs as much as I (and I am not really that big), and have been declaring myself “the fattest man in western Kenya”.
British Invasion
Less than 50 years ago, this land was still the property of the Queen of England and they imported many of their customs, some of which still hold true today. At 10am, anyone that can afford to stops working and enjoys a hot cup of tea. Chai tea is the order of the day (which is tea with milk) and the tea field of Kenya are on the Western Province where I am located, so while I usually don’t like hot tea, the tea here is delicious and enjoyed by everyone.
Sweets
Most of the sweets in the area I am in are usually single biscuits or pieces of gum or candy. Most people are unable to afford the big tub of cookie dough or funfetti frosting you scarf while watching Julia Roberts movies by yourself on Friday night. Rather, many places sell single pieces of gum or small non-chocolate candies (chocolate melts too easily). After much searching, today I found the legendary “Obama gum” the gum with pictures of Obama all over it - available in Obama Orange and Obama Strawberry. Yesterday, while I was in Kisumu and talking with Ruth, a sarcastic worker at St. Philips theological college, about Obama and how so many people here claim to be related to Obama or be their neighbors or friends. When I asked her if she was related to Obama, she said “No, but I know what he tastes like.” I can only hope she was talking about the gum.
Breakfast
For me, breakfast is the same each day and includes the spread above, which is essentially black coffee and corn flakes every day. There’s also the dreaded wheatabix, which are whole wheat bricks resembling plywood and with similar flavor and consistency. There’s also bread and margarine with so much fat in it that it can be stored at room temperature without separating.
I left the supa-loaf out on the counter one day and it attracted a supa-fly
Look for another post about the drinks of Kenya!
Hard lessons in swahili-Where do babies come from?
Mayai yaliangua vifaranga sita
The eggs hatched into six children
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