Recipe: The national dish of Kenya – Ugali nyama choma na kachumbari
Nyama Choma comprises of two words: ‘nyama’ which means meat and ‘choma’ which means barbecued in English. Nyama choma is a traditional meat dish from Kenya and can be made with goat meat, beef, or lamb.
The origin of the dish traces back to the Massai people as they immigrated from North to East Africa.
Making this dish is not difficult at all. It is best to barbecue the goat meat at medium to low temperatures. You can either use charcoal, an electric barbecue grill, or an oven.
Ugali and Nyama Choma With Kachumbari
Kachumbari is a Swahili word that originates from the Indian word kachumber—a salad dish consisting of fresh tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, lemon juice, and chili peppers. The simplified version of kachumbari consists of fresh tomatoes and onions and is popular in parts of Eastern and Southern Africa. Optional ingredients include coriander, parsley, and avocado.
Instructions
Ugali
- Place the water in a pot on high heat.
- Once the water gets warm, add half the amount of cornflour and stir it. Continue to stir until it thickens and becomes porridge. When you start seeing bubble, cover the pot and leave it to cook for 4 minutes on medium heat.
- Remove the pot from the heat and add the rest of the cornflour. Stir it. As you mix in the rest of the cornflour it will become harder, almost like play dough, continue to mould it until all the flour is mixed in, and mash all the lumps.
- Then spread it flat at the bottom of the pot as much as possible, cover, and put back on the fire on medium heat.
- After 4 minutes, open and stir it up in order to turn it, and spread it back on the bottom, cover, and put back on the heat. Repeat twice.
- Mould it in the middle of the pot into a nice round shape, and place on a serving dish.
Kachumbari
- Slice the onion and soak it in 350 ml warm water with ½ teaspoon salt for 20 minutes to reduce bitterness
- Slice the tomatoes
- Once the onions are done soaking, drain them, then combine with the tomatoes and chopped coriander, finally adding the lemon juice.
Nyama Choma
- Get a good charcoal fire going on your grill.
- Stir 1 teaspoon salt into 350 ml warm water for sprinkling on the meat.
- Place the rack of ribs and leg on the grill. Make some diagonal cuts on either side of the leg, about a centimetre deep.
- Monitor and turn both pieces regularly to ensure even cooking. Allow them to brown evenly.
- Occasionally sprinkle with salty water to keep from drying.
- Once cooked to medium, sprinkle generously with salty water and wrap them in foil. Make sure the foil is well sealed, with no holes.
- Place them back on the grill (in the foil) to continue cooking for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The meat will steam inside the foil as it continues to cook and will remain soft and moist.
- When ready, unwrap, separate the ribs and cut the leg into bite-sized pieces for serving.
Notes
Ugali is best eaten by hand, but you can still use a fork or spoon. To eat with your hand, pinch a bit of ugali, roll it in your hand, form a small pocket with your thumb, and pick up a piece of nyama choma and kachumbari.
