Last News

RECIPES

The tasty coconut beans

Dish of the mijikenda tradition of the coast of Kenya

11-05-2020 di redazione

Coconut beans (maharagwe za nazi) are a poor but tasty and energetic dish of the tradition of the ethnic mijikenda that populates the Kenyan coast.
Depending on who prepares it, tastes and abundance of beans, it can be cooked as a soup (more brothy) or as a cream (with more coconut milk).
Here is our recipe:

Ingredients for 4 people:
300 grams of beans
4 cups of coconut milk and 1 cup of cream (you can buy the one in bric or tin, possibly also the "Kentaste" cream).
1 onion
2 green chili peppers (pilipili)
2 tomatoes or sauce
1 teaspoon flour
Curcuma qb
Curry qb.

Preparation:

If the beans are fresh, leave them to soak in water for at least 12 hours, otherwise, remove the liquid from the can and rinse them.
Dice the onion and add it to the beans together with the chilli peppers, curry powder and salt, all in a pot.
Add enough coconut milk to cover the beans and start cooking.
Cook the beans until the coconut milk is reduced and the beans are well cooked.
In another pot, add the thick coconut milk (cream) and a little bit of flour and let it thicken. We suggest to take a small amount of beans and blend it in order to make the final dish even more creamy and tasty.
Add everything to the beans, stir and we recommend serving them with chapati.
(See here the recipe for chapati).

 

TAGS: fagioli al coccomijikenda ricettericette costa kenyaricette swahili

In Kenya, potatoes are particularly tasty.
The local population loves them fried, so much so that they are the ideal accompaniment to the national dish, the "nyama choma" (grilled meat almost toasted).
But there are many other ways to cook...

The ugali, composed of posho or sima, i.e. cornmeal and a side dish that can be meat, fish or vegetables, is the unique dish typical of Kenya and especially of the coast.

READ ALL

An ancient Swahili legend says that before the arrival of the Portuguese, the natives of the Kenyan coast did not eat avocado but only used oil, because they did not consider it as fruit or vegetables.
When the Portuguese decided...

READ ALL

In recent years gastronomic tourism has grown considerably all over the world.
This is due to the popularity of certain programmes and also to the media coverage of dishes and restaurants, especially in social networks.

READ ALL

A new, very nice "chiringuito" looks out onto the captivating setting of the Watamu beach meeting points.
In the bay of Fortamu, facing the island of love and just a few meters from

READ ALL THE REVIEW

Although originally from South America, papaya has spread widely in Kenya and is well integrated into Swahili cuisine. An interesting and tasty example is...

READ ALL

Coriander, or dhania as it is called here, is a herbaceous plant whose fruits are used, mistakenly called seeds because they are small and hard, as well as its leaves, which are very similar to those of...

READ ALL

In the 13th century recipe book "Kitab al tabeek", the writer Muhammad Bin Hassan Bhagdadi, whose original manuscript is still kept in

READ ALL

The Swahili cuisine of Kenya, as we know, is a mixture of the cultures and people who have landed on the coast, and the products of the territory they have learned to use. The example is offered by the use...

READ ALL

Githeri (or Mutheri) is a typical dish based on legumes, cereals and beans, typical of the Kikuyu tradition, but also of the Embu and Meru tribes. 
The recipe is now popular throughout the central region of Kenya and has its...

READ ALL

"Muhogo wa Nyama" (meat with cassava) is a typical Kenyan dish. Cassava is a tuber also known as cassava, it is used to make flour or like potatoes, both fried and stewed. Its taste is a bit reminiscent of chestnuts....

READ ALL

The Swahili cuisine has an infinity of delicious sweet dishes that, especially during the Ramadan period, you can discover and taste and then propose them on our tables.
The vipopoo or...

READ ALL

An even larger and more impressive terrace on one of the bays that make Watamu a tropical postcard of those that have millions of travellers dreaming.
One of the few from which you can see the sun blush in the...

READ ALL

Vibibibi" are local pancakes made with rice and coconut milk.
"Vibibibi" in kiswahili means "young ladies."
In the tradition of the Kenyan coast they are used in particular at breakfast or as a sweet appetizer before lunch.
Some people also...

READ ALL

"Samaki wa kupaka ya nazi", literally "Coconut fish cubes" is a dish of the Swahili tradition of Kenya, which uses various spices of ancient Indian origin to give it flavor. A very tasty version includes "madras", the most common one...

READ ALL