Category: royco

Collard greens/Spinach with coconut milk

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Previously, I shared with you a simple recipe of cooking collard greens (sukuma wiki) and spinach with few ingredients. In this recipe, I will show you how to prepare the collards in coconut milk.
Coconut milk can be bought from supermarkets ready to cook in its liquid form or dried where you would have to make the milk at home using water and sieving (if need be).

You can also buy the whole coconut fruit and using a special grater, make the milk commonly known as tui in Kenya and other East African countries. I will share with you the process of home made coconut milk in another article. But for now, here is the recipe where I used ready to cook coconut milk.

Ingredients (Serves three)
– Coconut milk ( 1 cup)

– Cooking oil and salt
– 1 onion
– 1 bunch spinach and sukuma wiki(collards)
– 2 large tomatoes
– Dhania (Coriander)
– Carrots (optional)
– Okra (optional)
– Pepper (optional)
– Royco (optional)

Method
1. Add cooking oil and chopped onions to sauce pan (sufuria) and cook till a little browned.

2. Add the chopped tomatoes, pepper, carrots, okra and coriander. Cook for a few minutes then add salt an royco if desired.

3. Add the chopped collards and spinach to the sufuria and cover to cook for about ten minutes.

4. Once the greens are almost cooked or start changing colour, pour in the coconut milk and and allow to simmer for five minutes.

5. Remove from heat and serve.

This dish is commonly served with ugali (sima), rice or chapatis.
Spices can be used sparingly in order to keep  the taste of the coconut.

Beef, Cabbage & Plantain stew

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I had promised to share a stew recipe of vegetables and beef, cooked by boiling only. I was taught this by an aunt of mine who had previously lived among a certain community in Kenya known for their vast cultivation of plantains. She told me that the community has been cooking the dish for decades. In the rural areas, they use an earthenware pot.
To be honest, the first time I heard the cooking procedure, I was surprised. How could anyone prepare a stew consisting of beef, plantains, potatoes and big chunks of cabbages by simply boiling?
It was on a Sunday morning and she left for church. I stayed at home. Her husband also remained behind and she told me and the house help that in case we needed assistance, we should ask her husband who was doing office work in the house. Apparently it is such an easy procedure he could easily do it too.
Since the food is boiled for a long period of time, we multi- tasked; cooking and doing the house chores. We lit a jiko(charcoal stove) and gathered all the ingredients. This was the beginning of my idea of cooking food by boiling only. Here we go:
Serves 4
•      6 -8 plantains
• 6-8 full potatoes
•      1 kg beef/ goat meat
• 1 cabbage cut into 4 quarters
•      3 tomatoes
•1 onion (or 2-3 stems of spring onions)
•      Salt
•Curry powder/Royco (optional)
•      Green bell pepper (optional)
•4-5 cups of Water
At times when I go visiting them, I notice that my uncle likes eating the dish as it is without any accompaniment except some fruit salad. I prefer serving it with Ugali(maize/corn flour mixed with water over a period of time until firm). Click here for the ugali recipe.
Method:
1.   In a large sauce pan, put the chunks of meat and add enough water so that you do not add any more during the cooking process. You’ll get to learn how much water you need for your dish if you cook frequently.
2.   Let the meat boil for about one hour thirty minutes. You can add salt at his point or wait and add later after adding the other ingredients.
3.    Add the potatoes, cover and continue boiling for about seven minutes.
4.    Add the peeled plantains and avoid stirring frequently so that the potatoes and plantains do not crumble. Boil for a further seven minutes.
5.    Arrange the quartered cabbages on top and cook till the cabbages are soft.
6.    Add chopped tomatoes, onion and bell pepper and cook till done. Stir to mix all the ingredients.
7.    Add curry powder or royco if desired.
8.    Serve hot.
You will notice that the big chunks of quarter cabbages will be fully cooked.
You will not use any oil in the dish. Meat contains animal fat which is enough.
Notice that the ingredients are added ACCORDING to how long each takes to cook. Meat and potatoes take a longer time than tomatoes and cabbages.
The more you cook this dish, the more you will be able to adequately measure the amount of water needed. The 4-5 cups stated is an estimate since it also depends on the amount of heat you use. I would suggest you use medium heat.
So, there you go. Try it.

Boiled only beef/chicken stew

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Considering that today most of us eat unhealthy foods compared to our grandparents and great-grandparents, I think it is good that we try as much as possible to reduce our intake of these foods.
I don’t like using a lot of cooking fat or oil when cooking, although some dishes require it especially those that have to be dip-fried. Lately, I have been trying to come up with some easy recipes that can be cooked by methods like boiling, steaming and baking.

I have found that soups that include beef and chicken can be cooked by boiling only and the end-product is very delicious. Also, boiling does not require a lot of attention and I can actually multitask; I can be doing my laundry on a Saturday morning while boiling away some lunch soup/stew, githeri(mixture of beans/peas and maize), or muthokoi(beans/peas and maize without the husks). Githeri and muthokoi cooked using dry maize and beans take longer periods to cook than the stews.

There are those who soak the maize and beans overnight then boil for a few minutes the following. I DO NOT do this because the food is not usually as delicious compared to that which has been boiled for two or three hours depending on the amount.

Anyway, this post is not about cooking maize and beans/peas but boiled stew. One of my favorite is a mixture of beef, potatoes, plantains, cabbage and other vegetables. I’ll however post this recipe later.
Let me share this simple beef/chicken stew with you. It is similar to the other that I will post later.

The idea is to start with the ingredients that take a much longer time to cook, in this case, meat. Those that take the least time are added at the end.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kg beef/chicken
  • 4 large potatoes cut in half
  • 3 large tomatoes
  • 1 bunch coriander/dania (optional)
  • Royco

Procedure:

  1. Put chopped meat into a coking pot and add about 3 cups of water. Bring to boil.
  2. Boil for about thirty minutes until they are almost tender.
  3. Add the potatoes, cover and cook until the a fork can pierce the potatoes without crumbling.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and dania. Add some little royco/curry powder of your choice and cook till both the potatoes and tomatoes are cooked.
  5. Add the rest of the royco and salt and let boil for five minutes.
  6. Serve 

Other spices can be added instead of the royco like ground garlic or ground coriander if the fresh alternative is not used. At this point, add only those spices that are in ground form sice they would not require a lot of cooking.
The stew can be served with chapati, rice, mukimo, boiled plantains, or even served as an accompaniment of the githeri (whose easy recipe I will post later).
You can experiment with other ingredients and vegetables to your liking but remember to always start with those that take longer time to cook.

Quick Bean stew

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In a number of estates in Nairobi, it is common to find food vendors selling cooked Githeri, beans and green grams. You can eat the Githeri as it is or cook further with additional ingredients. Whenever I get home feeling tired, I buy from these food vendors then quickly fry them at home.

For the beans, here is a simple and easy to cook recipe. You can serve with rice, chapati or ugali.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup boiled beans, drained
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 spring onion
  • Royco/curry powder
  • 1 bunch dania/coriander
  • 1 garlic clove
  • Oil

Method:
1. Heat oil in a cooking pot.
2. Add chopped onions and saute for about three minutes on medium heat.
3. Add crushed garlic and cook for two more minutes
4. Add tomatoes and dania, then cook till they form a paste.
5. Add royco/curry powder, stir and cook for about two minutes. Do not let them stick to the  cooking pot.
6. Add beans and stir to mix all the ingredients. Cook for about ten minutes stirring every five minutes to avoid sticking to pot.
7. Add 1 1/2 cups water. Taste for salt because of the royco, and if not enough add then simmer for about seven minutes.

Also, you can add green bell pepper and eggplant to the recipe. After adding the crushed garlic, add the bell pepper & cook till soft. Add the tomatoes, coriander and eggplant together but do not cook for long without adding a little water since the eggplant may absorb the oil. Add the other ingredients as above.

Fish stew

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Here is a simple recipe I like for cooking fish like tilapia. It doesn’t take a lot of time to prepare and can be served with ugali or rice.

Ingredients:
1. 1 whole fish, cleaned
2. 1 onion
3. 2 large tomatoes
4. Dhania/Coriander
5. Crushed ginger
6. Crushed garlic
7. Fresh lemon juice
8. Pepper (optional)
9. Royco

 Method:
1. In a small bowl, mix the crushed garlic, ginger and fresh lemon juice.
2. Slit the fish across two or three times depending on the size.
3. Insert the crushed garlic, ginger and lemon juice into the open slits.
4. Deep fry the fish on both sides till brown and cooked.
5. Saute onions in little oil in a cooking pot till transluscent.
6. Add tomatoes and dhania.
7. Add salt then cook till they form a paste.
8. In a bowl, mix & stir 1/2 cup of water and royco.
9. Add to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil.
10.Put whole fish into the pot then let cook for ten minutes on both sides.
11.Serve with fried rice or ugali.

Don’t cook the fish in the pot for too long so that it does not crumble.
Royco can be substituted with curry powder or any spice of your choice. You can also add it directly to the tomato paste without first mixing with water in a bowl.Curry powder doesn’t need to be mixed with water before adding to the pot.