Ugali encounter

 I’ve mentioned before that one of Kenya’s most popular foods is ugali, a thick starch made from maize-meal. I tried it once when we were staying at the hostel, but I don’t think what I had was the real deal. My host family is in the minority that doesn’t eat it very often. One night last week, however, my host mom said, “Jennie, you can’t go to the coast before you have some ugali and sukuma wiki.” So I did.

"Paul, I don't think Jennie is doing any justice to our ugali."

I tried to look like a pro here, but really I just tried to stir it. She did the grunt work. Wow, it was some thick stuff. After we mixed and mixed, my host mom shaped it into a cakelike mass and flipped it onto a plate. 

Ugali cake

She served the ugali with the sukuma wiki (kale) and a potato/meat stew. There are utensils on the table here, but before we began to eat, my host brother decided that we needed to do it the traditional way. Fingers only! We pinched pieces of the ugali, rolled them, flattened them, and used the pieces to pick the vegetable and meat.

Paul, Matthew, and Hannah with our classic Kenyan meal

I gave it a good effort but ended up begging for a fork. I actually kind of liked the ugali. It really didn’t have much of a taste but the doughy texture was not bad. It really sticks to the ribs…no evening snack necessary if ugali is part of dinner. Who knows what I’ll be eating in Shirazi; a lot more ugali may be in my future!