Cookbook:Cuisine of Kenya

Cookbook | Ingredients | Cuisines | African Cuisines

There is no singular dish that represents all of Kenya. Different communities have their own native foods. Staples are maize and other cereals, depending on the region, including millet and sorghum eaten with various meats and vegetables. The foods that are universally eaten in Kenya are ugali, sukuma wiki, and nyama choma. Sukuma wiki, a Kiswahili phrase which literally means "to push the week," is a simple dish made with greens similar to kale or collards that can also be made with cassava leaves, sweet potato leaves, or pumpkin leaves. Its Kiswahili name comes from the fact that it is typically eaten to "get through the week" or "stretch the week." Nyama choma is meat - usually goat or sheep- roasted over an open fire. It is best eaten with ugali and kachumbari. Among the Luhyas residing in the western region of Kenya, ingokho (chicken) and ugali is a favourite meal. Other than these, they also eat tsisaka, miroo, managu etc. Also among the Kikuyu of Central Kenya, a lot of tubers, ngwaci (sweet potatoes), ndũma (taro root) known in Kenya as arrowroot, ikwa (yams), and mianga (cassava) are eaten as well as legumes like beans and a Kikuyu bean known as njahi.