Kenyan Food

Traditional foods from Kenya

Kenyan Food

Kenyan plates vary from region to region depending on the sources of food around them, lakes, rivers, sea and agricultural land. Adopting menus, spices and ingredients from people that settled in Kenya since the turn of the 19th century like Indians, Arabs and Europeans to create delicious plates for all.

images courtesy of migrationology.com

Ugali

The undeniable most common Kenyan food staple is ugali – made from cornmeal that is added to boiling water and heated until it turns into a dense block of cornmeal paste. Ugali has the consistency of a grainy dough and the heaviness of a brick.

Pilaue rice

Pilau is a glorified combination of rice cooked with flavour bursting spices like cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. The fragrant rice is fantastic to eat with a form of meat stew and a few slices of fresh tomato and onions.

Chapatti (flat bread)

Kenyan style chapatis are made with a flour dough, wound into a coil then rolled into a flat round circle. The dough is then fried on a skillet with plenty of oil so it becomes crispy on the edges but remains moist and doughy on the inside.

Kenyan Stew

Kenyan stew can be made from: beef, goat, chicken. The dishes may include base vegetables such as carrots, peppers, peas, or potatoes. The sauce is formed from a tomato base with onion, salt and pepper, and that essential mchuzi mix!

Sukuma Wiki (Kale)

One of the most popular vegetable Kenyan dishes is Sukuma wiki (known as collard greens or kale in English). The nutritious green leafy vegetable is cooked in oil with tomatoes, onions, and a sprinkle of mchuzi mix or stock cube flavouring.

Nyama Choma

Goat and beef are the 2 most common forms of nyama choma, but chicken (kuku choma) and fish (samaki choma) are also valid choices. Fat and the grizzle from the meat is the choice part of the animal with quick dip in salt for extra flavour.