Ingredients
Ugali
- 500 gwhite maize flour (unga wa sembe), finely milled
- 1.2 litreswater
- ½ tspsalt, optional and often left out
To serve, maharage ya nazi
- 300 gdried red kidney beans, soaked overnight and boiled until tender, or 2 x 400 g tins
- 400 mlcoconut milk
- 1onion, chopped
- 2tomatoes, chopped
- 2garlic cloves and 2 cm ginger, crushed
- 1 tspground cumin
- ½ tspturmeric
- 2 tbspoil
- salt
Mchicha
- 400 gamaranth leaves or spinach, shredded
- 1onion, chopped
- 1tomato, chopped
- 100 mlcoconut milk
- 1 tbspoil, salt
- 1 tbspraw peanut flour, optional
Equipment
- a mwiko, the flat wooden ugali paddle, or a stout wooden spoon
- a heavy-based sufuria or saucepan
Directions
- Bring 1 litre of the water to a rolling boil in the heavy pan, holding back 200 ml.
- Whisk about 100 g of the maize flour into the boiling water and let it cook 3 to 4 minutes into a loose porridge; this base is what stops lumps forming later.
- Start adding the rest of the flour in handfuls with one hand while stirring hard with the mwiko in the other, breaking every lump against the side of the pan as it appears. When the mass stiffens enough to resist the paddle, lower the heat right down.
- Add splashes of the reserved hot water if it becomes too stiff to move, and more flour if it stays sticky. It is ready when it is smooth, pulls away from the pan in one mass, and no longer tastes raw or gritty.
- Serve at once, in the centre of the table.
Technique
- Correct ugali is stiff enough to hold its shape and should not stick to your fingers when you roll it. If it does, it needs more work and a little more flour.
- Sembe, finely milled white maize flour, is what Tanzanians use. Coarse polenta or yellow cornmeal makes a grainier, sweeter dish that is recognisably not ugali.
- Ugali is made fresh for each meal and eaten hot. It sets firm as it cools and cannot be successfully reheated, which is why nobody keeps leftovers.
Substitutions
- No sembe: fine white cornmeal is the closest; sift out any coarse grains first.
- In parts of Tanzania ugali is made from cassava flour, or from a mixture of cassava and maize, which gives a stickier, more elastic dough.
- A stiff wooden spatula will do the job if you have no mwiko, but a thin spoon will bend or break.
Variations
- Ugali wa dona, made with less refined maize meal, darker and more filling.
- Ugali wa muhogo, made from cassava flour, common on the coast.
- Ugali served with mchicha and maharage, the everyday meatless plate described here.
History
Maize came from the Americas via Portuguese traders and only displaced millet and sorghum as Kenya’s staple during the twentieth century.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ugali?
Ugali is a main from Kenya: stiff maize-meal staple molded by hand to scoop stews and greens. Maize came from the Americas via Portuguese traders and only displaced millet and sorghum as Kenya’s staple during the twentieth century.
How long does Ugali take to make?
Ugali takes 5 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Ugali?
Yes, within limits. No sembe: fine white cornmeal is the closest; sift out any coarse grains first. In parts of Tanzania ugali is made from cassava flour, or from a mixture of cassava and maize, which gives a stickier, more elastic dough. A stiff wooden spatula will do the job if you have no mwiko, but a thin spoon will bend or break.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ugali?
Ugali is made fresh for each meal and eaten hot. It sets firm as it cools and cannot be successfully reheated, which is why nobody keeps leftovers.
