AUP Community Blog

Celebrating Black History Month with a Home-Cooked Kenyan Meal

Stella Sagini '21

Lately, when I think about food, home has been the first thing that comes to mind, and I have been craving a home-cooked meal. I grew up in Kenya, and I remember good food being at the center of all our family gatherings, traditional ceremonies and community meetings. We would come together for a feast of Nyama Choma (roasted meat) and various local dishes.

This year, I plan to celebrate Black History Month by cooking a traditional Kenyan meal: ugali. It’s a traditional delicacy, made by mixing maize flour (or cornmeal) with hot water, consistently, over a fire, until it reaches a stiff, dough-like consistency.

Ugali goes by different names in Kenya and across sub-Saharan Africa including “nsima” or “nshima” in Malawi and Zambia, “pap” or “mealie pap” in South Africa, and “sadza” in Zimbabwe. In Kenya, ugali was first popularized in the coastal region in the 19th century when Portuguese traders introduced maize to the country. Large-scale maize farming soon followed, initially for export, but later largely for sustaining the workforce. Today, ugali is the most popular meal made and consumed by Kenyan households.

A woman makes ugali. Image credit: Shutterstock

I am not the best cook, so I called for reinforcements – from my mother, of course! She’s a great cook, and she shared this step-by-step video of how to cook ugali.

Mama’s Kenyan ugali. Video credit: Stella Sagini

I needed to replicate this, and with my instructions in hand, the next step was to source my ingredients at my local market. I have discovered some vibrant markets in Paris, like Rue de Grenelle, President Wilson and Marché Barbès. I am enjoying the vibrant colors of different fruits and vegetables. The hustle and bustle of wading through a busy market, complete with the loud chatter of vendors, makes me feel right at home.

I successfully made my own ugali, which you can see in the image below, and, I must say, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. The trick to ugali is to keep it turning to ensure it’s cooked evenly both inside and out. However, I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the consistency of this ugali – it's very sticky. I suspect that’s because of the brand of maize flour I used. I couldn’t find the right flour at the market, so I settled for store-bought maize. I will be sure to buy pure maize flour next time.

Ugali is a shared meal. You can create a large one for the family; each one can be cut into cake-like servings, or everyone can gather round and tear off pieces as they eat together. Ugali is best served while hot and most enjoyable when eaten together with others.

Ugali made with Maizena flour. Image credit: Stella Sagini

Ugali and yoghurt-marinated fish. Image credit: Stella Sagini

Marché Président Wilson

INGREDIENTS

  • Water – 4 cups

  • Salt – 1 teaspoon

  • White cornmeal, finely ground – 2 cups

METHOD

  1. Bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the cornmeal slowly, letting it fall through your fingers.
  2. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue stirring regularly, smashing any lumps with a spoon, until the mush pulls away from the sides of the pot and becomes very thick, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool a little.
  3. Place the ugali into a large serving bowl. Wet your hands with water, form into a ball and serve.

UGALI VARIATIONS

  • White cornmeal is the most commonly used grain for ugali. But you can substitute sorghum, millet or coarse cassava flour – or even hominy grits.
  • You can adjust the amount of water you add to obtain your desired consistency. Most Africans would not salt the water, so you can leave the salt out if you wish.
  • Stir in a little butter for a richer flavor.

On Monday, February 22, 2021, Stella will host an event for Black History Month on behalf of AUP’s Black and Abroad club: an online discussion on “Food, Commensality and East African Culture.” Her talk will address both the historical and present-day food commensality rituals among East Africans. For more information about the event, and to join the discussion, visit the event page on AUP Engage.

Stella is a graduate student from Kenya, studying in the MAGC program. She previously worked at the e-commerce food platform, Jumia Food. She was inspired by a class she completed at AUP – Food, Culture and Communications with Prof. Christie Shields  – and became more intrigued by food culture research, particularly when conducted in Africa. To find out more about Stella Sagini, you can read her profile on the AUP website or connect with her on LinkedIn @stellasagini.