Month: April 2013

Garlic Spiced Deep Fried Potatoes

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In Kenya, viazi karai (deep fried potatoes) are very common. They are cooked in restaurants, homes and roadside vendors. They are highly favoured not only for their deliciousness but also for the fact that they are very simple to prepare.

Viazi Karai are typically made from Irish potatoes. These are readily available everywhere & I’m sure you can easily get them wherever you are.

Viazi Karai (deep fried potatoes) can be eaten for breakfast or as a mid-day snack.

How to Cook Viazi Karai

The cooking process involves boiling potatoes until they are cooked but still firm, and then deep frying them. It is a simple process and takes a few minutes to prepare. You can also opt to boil the potatoes with the skin on after thoroughly washing to remove any soil particles.

Once cooked (but not crumbly), the potatoes are peeled and immersed in a specially prepared batter. The batter’s consistency and spiciness plays a vital role in the final taste of the food.

The batter can be prepared by simply mixing water, a little salt and wheat flour. Then add one or more spices as you please.

Garlic Spiced Deep Fried Potatoes

In this recipe, we will add crushed garlic to the batter. You will need to prepare the batter as you boil the potatoes. Note that the potatoes should never crumble. They must retain their shape.

These are the ingredients you will need.

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium-sized potatoes
  • 1 1/2 cups of water
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup wheat flour
  • 4 pcs crushed garlic
  • A pinch of food colour

You should use a ratio of water to flour based on how thick you want the coat to be. The lighter it is, the shorter the time it will take to cook & the crispier it will be.

Method:

  1. After the potatoes are cooked but still firm, peel them and set them aside to cool.
  2. Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and make sure there are no lumps in the batter.
  3. Pour enough oil in a deep frying pan and heat it, but don’t let it get too hot.
  4. In the meantime, cut the potatoes into your desired shape; cubes, oval pieces etc.
  5. Once the oil is hot enough but not smoking, immerse the potatoes into the batter and coat all the sides.
  6. Deep fry the pieces until the batter coating is cooked. Do not use very high heat.
  7. Once well cooked, remove the viazi karai and place them on paper towels to drain off the excess oil.
  8. Serve.
Garlic Spiced Deep Fried Potatoes with Amaranth leaves

These super delicious garlic spiced deep fried potatoes can be served alongside homemade sauces like tamarind sauce, tomato sauce or pepper sauce. Try them with any sauce of your choice.

Viazi karai may be cooked in the morning & served for breakfast over a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. A glass of fresh juice will also go down pretty well with this snack.

Equally, you could serve with stir-fried vegetables to get more nutrients. As you can see from the above picture, the garlic spiced deep fried potatoes have been served with stir-fried amaranth leaves. They make a great accompaniment.

How to Cook Kunde/Cow peas Leaves

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Cow peas or black eyed peas are commonly referred to as Kunde in Swahili. Their green leaves are cooked like other vegetables except that a number of people prefer boiling them first.

Boiling makes the leaves tender and easily digestible. There are a number of ways of cooking them. For instance:

1. Once boiled, oil is added to a sauce pan to saute onions for about three minutes. The drained cow peas leaves are added and cooked for a few minutes to absorb the oil and onion and to get more flavor.

An advantage of this simple way of cooking is that the leaves retain their natural flavor since there aren’t many vegetables added.

2. Another way of cooking them is adding more vegetables to make it more nutritious. Beef can also be added.

3. In some Kenyan communities, the leaves are boiled whole then after draining pounded/mashed instead of chopping them, especially if they are to be served to many people.

I will share a recipe that includes other vegetables but excludes meat.

Ingredients:

  • Chopped and boiled cow peas leaves- about 3 handfuls
  • 1 onion
  • 2 tomatoes
  • Garam masala
  • Crushed or finely chopped garlic
  • 2 pcs of okra
  • 1 bell pepper
  • Royco/ any other spices of your choice
  • Cooling oil & salt

Procedure:

  1. Saute onion and garlic in oil for about three minutes.
  2. Add the bell pepper and cook for a minute.
  3. Add the tomatoes and okra. Add also garam masala and any other spices of your choice (e.g tumeric, cumin, dhana jeera).
  4. After two minutes, add the boiled cow peas leaves and stir to mix all the ingredients. Cook for five minutes. In case you want to add royco, add to the sauce pan and simmer for five minutes.
  5. Taste for salt then serve.

The kunde/cow peas leaves are great served with chapati or ugali. They have a distinct taste that easily diferentiates them from other green leafy vegetables like kales/collards and spinach.

If you intend to cook together with beef, it is best to cook the beef in oil with onions and garlic before adding the other vegetables. This gives it more time to cook and adds flavor.

Nutritional Facts About Cow Peas/ Black Eyed Peas

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Cowpeas are very common in African farm lands due to the fact that they can be cultivated in semi-arid areas with average or little rainfall. They are also referred to as black-eyed peas. They are legumes and have quite a number of health benefits.
Cowpeas are used in various dishes. They can be cooked as soups or as main dishes. They are known by many local names in various countries. They are also cultivated in the Americas and Asia. 
In many Kenyan and African communities, the leaves of the cowpea plant are used as vegetables. They can be cooked as a separate vegetable dish or cooked together with other dishes. In Kenya, the greens referred to as kunde are mostly cooked as a side dish with ugali/sima. They are also added to boiled maize and beans referred to as githerito make the dish more nutritious. 
The cowpeas leaves are a good source of Vitamins A and C. These vitamins help boost the immune system and act as antioxidants. It is the softer leaves that are harvested because they are tastier and easier to cook. They are cooked with tomatoes and other vegetables. Beef can also be included.
Cowpeas are a good source of proteins and fiber. They also provide potassium, calcium and carbohydrates. Therefore, due to the many health benefits of cowpeas/ black-eyed peas, they are very much recommended by health experts.