I Love food and as an avid traveler in my opinion one of the best ways to learn about a local culture is through its food. It gathers people, it lets them enjoy, relax and it tickles ones senses. Recently, I traveled to Kenya. I was curious about this country as I had read a blog post that showed me such a diversity of things this country has to offer. I was pleasantly surprised and it changed the image I had of Kenya. Local food was one of the things I wanted to try first.
I had planned to stay 2 days in Nairobi to experience this vibrant city too, but not the standard tourist attractions like the Giraffe center or David’s Sheldrick’s Elephant orphanage.
I wanted to meet the people, connect, interact and understand their culture better. I decided to find a home cooking class.
After several searches, I found one, that looked interesting. It seemed more authentic than the rest and I read the teacher Lucy, makes some of the best chapati’s in Nairobi. Last but not least, the foundation behind it was noble – supporting local tourism-.
Without further ado I signed up for Lucy’s Cooking Class. She responded and confirmed fast.
Induction to Kenyan meals
I learned that Kenya has a variety of foods. Not only beans and maize balls that I often saw on television, but it also has a lot of Indian influence. Some of their top favorite, that you will always get in a local restaurant and that are definitely a must try include : Githeri – a combination of beans and maize – Chapati – an absolute delicacy in Kenya, and my absolute best fish, and of course Ugali, made from maize meal.
All these are meals on their own, and they can also complement each other. Ugali goes really well with fish and vegetables. Githeri is a meal in itself, and some communities take it as a snack and it goes well with tea. Chapati goes well with beans and some vegetables and can also be taken with tea.
One thing I learnt about Kenya too, is they are a community of tea drinkers.
Getting to Lucy’s place was very easy. Lucy is located conveniently on Ngong Rd, close to Prestige Plaza, one of Nairobi’s malls. Uber works very well in Kenya and because of that, I was able to find the place easily. Besides providing a cooking class, Lucy also runs her own little restaurant.
The restaurant feels more like a home with just a few tables. David is the chef and helps her with preparing the food.
Lucy is passionate about healthy food, and therefore promotes healthy and organic food only. She specializes on two of her favorite dishes, chapati and matoke (plantains in curry.) We started promptly as scheduled. We had three hours to prepare meals that we would later enjoy. We started with making chapati. I have to say that Lucy is a master in making chapati’s and one of the best I have ever tasted!
Chapati involves wheat flour and water. With the right amount of oil, water, salt, and lucy’s favorite, shredded carrots and dhania – a herb – the mixture is kneaded into dough and round balls, which are later flattened into a circular shape and fried with oil, waiting for both sides to turn brown over the heat and its ready. It looked tedious at first, but as we begun the process, it became more fun as we went along.
6 chapati’s later, and the kitchen was a mess. We were all new at it, and horrible at mixing, and flour was everywhere, even in our eyebrows.
Plantains were easier. We peeled the bananas (very easy) and cut them into thin slices and had them fried. We prepared kale vegetables – that involved cutting them, it was my first time to cut vegetables, and I think I did a pretty good job, as compared to the men, who cut them in huge chunks hoping that size did not matter, but of course it did. That got us all hooting in laughter, and in the end we were able to get the size right, and prepare an assortment of vegetables.
We then made a curry, known as Ndengu, that goes well with Chapati. Ndengu (green grams) are soaked overnight to soften them up, and thereafter fried with tomatoes, onions, pepper, some communities in kenya add diced potatoes to the curry, others do without, we choose to add diced carrots into our curry, and when our three hours were up- which felt like 30 minutes, we sat down to eat the meal we had prepared.
I have never had a more fulfilling day in my life as a traveler. Sitting down and preparing a Kenyan meal with a local not only gave me a truly unique experience, it also gave me insight in the different tribes in Kenya. I learnt that certain foods are associated with certain tribes even.
As we ate, I discovered love is a plate of food. It was my first time eating chapati and Ndengu, and the combination was heavenly, and with each bite, I fell deeper and deeper in love with the Kenyan food. I decided even to take another cooking class with Lucy the next day to learn how to prepare Ugali and fish – another Kenyan delicacy. I fell in love with Kenya, and its food was one of the reasons.
After my time in Nairobi I decided to travel to a variety of places to get the best out of my stay in Kenya. It was true the blog post showed me: 1) It has one of the best climates in the world, not only tropical hot, but also cool.
2) It’s diverse geography – Kenya actually boasts some seriously spectacular geographical features, including the Great Rift Valley, snowcapped Mount Kenya, several smaller mountains and volcanoes, numerous lakes, vibrant rivers, deserts in the north to lush forests.
Then you have Kenya’s coast, which is heaven. Crystal blue sea and truly white sandy beaches. Something many travelers go for to the Caribbean, Thailand, or Indonesia. The good thing in Kenya is that hardly anyone knows about it, so it is still quiet.
3) Kenya has one of the best African Wildlife experiences. It is possible to see not just the ”Big Five”, but the ”Big Nine”, hundreds of bird species, and everything from Hippos to an endangered Black Rhino on the savannah, all in a single Day!
If I made you curious, I came across this quick Kenya Quiz that gives you travel tips based on your preferences and duration of your holiday.
Have you ever fallen in love with a certain culture as you went through your travels?
Share with us your experiences in the comments below, we would love to hear from you.
35 thoughts on “Love brewed in a Kenyan Pot”
I did not imagine that Kenyan cuisine could be so intensely interesting, super yummy!
That is what travel does to you, surprise you at every turn. Thanks for passing by Christina.
Oh yum, this looks SO good. I don’t think I’ve ever tried Kenyan food before.
Oh, it was YUM. Thank you for stopping by Amber.
I would have never guessed that there was carrots in the Chapati. That bread does sound very yummy.
Yes Tara, the trick is to grate them. Super delicacy. Thanks for stopping by Tara.
Kenya has been on my travel bucket list for so long, I really want to visit the country. The food sounds absolutely fantastic!
This all sounds so good, I bet Kenya is such an amazing place to go and visit and to get to go and try all these goodies.
Oh, I hope you get to travel there. Amazing country, and amazing people, and amazing food! Thanks for stopping by.
Yes it is Sarah, thanks for stopping by.
I love Kenyan food! This looks absolutely incredible. Now I know what I’m going to cook for dinner!
Thanks Stephanie for stopping by, enjoy your dinner!
Kenya is absolutely rich in so many things. Food is always at the peak of them all. It has a rich history and great mouthful experience.
Thank you Princess, that is so true. Thank you for stopping by.
One of the things I love most, is learning about the foods of different cultures.
Thanks Heather for stopping by. I am glad that you learnt something.
This actually the first time that I have learned the Kenyan cuisine. It looks really flavorful and delicious.
I was pretty amazed myself. Thanks for stopping by Chelle.
This is exactly the kind of food experience that I would enjoy. I adore cooking classes. Being able to learn about food and its preparation in such an authentic, meaningful way is exciting!
This was so lovely. I really know nothing about Kenyan cuisine and culture. What a great way for you to experience the authenticity of that area of the world!
The benefits of travel and its perks and what it teaches you along the way. Thanks for stopping by.
Wow that looks really good and I’m interested in one day trying Kenyan food !
Thanks Mjmamaa for stopping by. It sure is really good food.
After reading this post and seeing these pictures, I’m pretty sure I would love some Kenyan food! So delicious looking!
Haha you are welcome. Thanks for stopping by.
I had no idea what type of food they eat in Kenya. Some foreign foods sound a bit scary to me, but Kenyan food sound like food I wouldn’t mind trying. I like the flavor ideas.
I hear you Heidi, I also like sticking to my usually fries and a burger 🙂 This was worth it though. Thanks for stopping by.
Oh wow! Looks so delicious and tasty too! I will prepare this weekend, love this recipe ♥
Thanks Gladys for stopping by, hope you enjoy your meal.
That’s great you get to know everything about Kenya including the cuisine and culture. The food does look marvelous.
I am excited. I love food trips to exciting new places. For a foodie like me this is such an adventure!
It sure does David. Thank you for stopping by.
I know what you mean Sigrid. I too am a foodie. Thanks for stopping by.
This looks like great delicious food and I definitely try this one. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Bindu for stopping by, glad you learnt something.