Month: February 2021

Spicy Chicken Wings and Avocado Salad.

On By WanjoroIn Recipes1 Comment

This is another really simple but really tasty wings recipe. As always with a lot of my chicken dishes, the secret is in the marinade, and this one here is a must try.

You will need:-

  • About 500g chicken wings
  • 1 heaped tbsp jamaican jerk seasoning.
  • 1 tbsp balsamic drizzle. (Simmer equal parts balsamic vinegar and honey till thick enough to cover the back of a spoon. Cool, cover and store in the fridge to use as needed).
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Method.

Mix all the marinade ingredients in a bowl.

Clean your wings and rub/pour the marinade all over. Let marinate overnight.

Heat your pan, add the wings, skin down.

Once seared brown, flip and cook for 25 – 30 minutes till the wings are completely cooked. Lower heat and keep turning so they do not burn.

For the salad, you will need:-

  • 1 ripe but firm avocado.
  • Juice of one lemon.
  • 1 small chopped onion.
  • 2 chopped firm tomatoes.
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves.
  • 1 green pepper chopped.
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon chaat masala.

Method.

  • Mix all the vegetables except the avocado in a bowl.
  • Mix the lemon juice and the chaat masala and salt.
  • Peel and cube the avocado and add the the vegetables, then pour the lemon dressing. Fold in well and pour some more lemon on top. Cover and refrigerate till ready to serve.
Avocados are always in plenty here in Kampala, and tasty too, you will include them in almost all your meals.
Final plate: Spicy wings, fried potatoes and salad.

The chicken is really spicy thanks to the jerk seasoning but not overpowering due to the underlying sweetness of the balsamic drizzle. The wings are well cooked, skin is crispy and the inside is still moist and full of flavour. The deep fried potatoes are crunchy on the outside, and go well with the tangy salad.

Perfect for that night you want to indulge a bit. So go on and give this a try. The taste, colours and aroma are all worth the effort.

No Green Thumb here.

On By WanjoroIn House Matters, Memories, Random musings2 Comments

I come from a culture that prides itself in farming; no matter the scale. (Hello there, Andū a Nyūmba).

Such a disappointment given the amount of space I have here at the moment.

It wasn’t always like this though. Some years ago, I had a thriving kitchen garden back home. I grew my own spring onion, dhania, rosemary, mint, celery, beetroot, spinach, carrots, even strawberries, and they all thrived. I have no idea what happened when we got here.

Photo by cottonbro on Pexels.com

Growing up, we had a garden and livestock. We grew maize, potatoes, avocados, kale, spinach, amaranth, passion fruits, avocado, luquats, tree tomato, pumpkins, beans etc. My Dad who has a green thumb alright, had planted some beautiful flowers all around the house too. It was a pretty place. You would think I’d get some of that green pixie dust… Well, maybe I did, it just didn’t last long.

H and I lived in Naivasha for a while and we tried to garden, it was successful, except for the monkeys that would come and have a field day uprooting the carrots and messing up the maize. We did enjoy the onions and anything else the monkeys could not consume.

When we moved back to Nairobi, I did the kitchen garden thing again and it was pretty neat except for the strawberries that would go missing just before harvest. I did figure out who the culprit was but that is a story for another day. Anyway, somewhere along the line, I got too busy with work and neglected the small space, we ended up planting grass there. Funny enough though, the celery, beetroot and lemongrass keep popping up.

Fast forward to Kampala. We found a couple of banana trees, some lemongrass, struggling mint and chives in a small corner of the compound. Hurray! I thought, I can do this. So we had the small patch fenced off the rest of the garden because of the dogs, and got planting. Guys, nothing grew! Absolutely nothing! Even the existing chives and mint just decided to exit stage left. The bananas did grow without our help and we have enjoyed them twice but that is all. Even the maize I got to plant next to the bananas just decided to leave this world.

This is Uganda, fertile land and all with rain almost every month of the year. We watered, got manure, even dug everything up and tried again, we did all we could but nope, nothing happened.

I have given up on gardening. And I have no shame in admitting it. H and the kids haven’t though. My son has a bean plant he planted in class and it is thriving, so far so good. They also planted pumpkin and mint that is also coming on well. Even they pineapples they planted have taken root. I have decided to watch it all from a distance though, I do not want to jinx their plants, seeing as I now have a black thumb.

My Mum has been sending me pictures of their amazing organically grown vegetables. Courgettes almost as big as my arm, plump beans, large leafy greens, maize and peas and I have nothing to show for all my talk of having a big space for a wonderful kitchen garden. NOTHING.

As much as I have never been an ardent gardener, I still feel like I have failed bigly. What sort of Kikuyu woman is this who cannot even grow simple dhania guys? Dhania, the easiest thing to grow. I have failed my people. Do you know how lousy of a gardener I have become that I could not even sustain an existing rosemary bush people, Rosemary!

Black thumb it is for me.

Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.com

Tasty Stewed Lentils.

On By WanjoroIn Recipes, UncategorizedLeave a comment

I know I am not the only one who craves a warming, filling and hearty stew on rainy days.

This recipe is tasty, easy to make, will fill you up well on a chilly day and keep well in the fridge, in case there are leftovers.

I love this vegetable stew as it enhances the authentic flavour of the vegetables used, and is full of nutrients too. Let’s get started.

Ingredients are:-

  • 1 1/2 cups small brown lentils (masoor dal)
  • 1 chopped onion.
  • 1 bay leaf.
  • 4 cloves of garlic, chopped.
  • 1 medium courgette and 1 medium eggplant, chopped and kept aside in salted water.
  • 1 large chopped tomato.
  • 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped.
  • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped.
  • Mixed herbs (thyme and basil).
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
Heat your pan, and add the oil. Add the bay leaf, then onion and fry till translucent then add your chopped garlic.
Add the carrot, mixed well then add your tomatoes and let cook a while.
Drain and rinse then add the eggplant and courgette, let cook a while before adding the potato.
Once the potatoes are cooked a bit, add the herbs, lentils and 3 cups of water as well as your salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked.
This is a hearty stew that will satisfy your comfort food cravings.
The best accompaniment to this is some crusty bread from Brood.

You can even have it on its own or with some dinner rolls. The kids like it with chapati and rice. Leftovers are great for their lunchboxes too.

Note: Soaking the eggplant in salted water removes the bitter taste and also reduces the water in the veggies, hence they are able to hold their shape well, and enhance their natural flavour.

This is a tasty one pot dish full of flavourful vegetables and nutrients that will please the eyes and palate, it is definitely worth a try and easy to make too.

Delicious Chickpea, Eggplant and Butternut Recipe.

On By WanjoroIn RecipesLeave a comment

Yep. Another kala chana recipe.

Simple, healthy, tasty, filling and colourful. This delightful meal ticks all those boxes and is one of my faves to make too.

Ingredients are two cups of peeled and chopped butternut, 2 cups kala chana, one eggplant, two tomatoes, I small bunch of coriander,1 tablespoon ghee, 1 tablespoon of ginger garlic paste, salt and pepper. For the spices, the whole spices are a teaspoon each of black mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, nigella seeds and fennel seeds. The ground spices are a teaspoon each of garam masala, ground Dhania jeera and 1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric.

Boil the chickpeas till ready and set aside.

Heat your pan, add the ghee and toast the whole spices a bit.

Add your onion and cook till soft, then add the ginger garlic paste then the eggplants.

Mix well. Add the coriander stalks too and set the leaves aside for garnish later.
Add the ground spices, mix well then add the chopped tomato and some salt. Cover and let simmer till tomatoes are soft.
Add the chick pea and let it cook a while to absorb the flavours…
…then add the chopped butternut.
Add a bit of water, not too much though and check on seasoning. Cover and simmer till butternut is cooked through.
Garnish with the coriander leaves once ready.
I added some fresh chillies on mine.

It is not too spicy but very flavourful. You can cook earlier and let rest so the flavours can deepen further before serving.

It goes well with minty flatbread that is very easy to make. 1 1/2 cups of self raising flour, I cup of natural yoghurt, a pinch of salt, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp dried mint. Knead well till soft and smooth, and cook on a griddle pan. Serve hot.
Colourful, healthy, tasty and filling. Right up my alley.

I added some fresh chilli on top too but this is optional. This is an amazingly flavour filled vegetarian meal to add to your normal meal plan. It will leave you satisfied, is good to look at, easy to make, nutritious and tasty too.

Definitely worth a try.

Pumpkin and Courgette Rice.

On By WanjoroIn Recipes1 Comment

I like rice due to its versatility when it comes to flavours and the fact that it goes so well with many other dishes. It also cooks fast and is not hard to mess up.

My rice of choice is always basmati rice. I like the long grains, the aroma and that it doesn’t get sticky or clumpy. The preferred local rice here does have a lovely aroma and flavour, but I use that for rice balls as it is short and a bit sticky.

This is a simple rice pilau that uses pumpkin and courgette for flavour, colour and nutrients. It is a great lunch option for the kids’ lunchbox and also a way to ensure they are loaded up on those much needed vegetables.

We will need: One chopped onion, one grated courgette, 1 cup chopped pumpkin, some crushed garlic, 1 cup basmati rice, salt and pepper to taste. For spices I used one tsp whole cumin seeds, 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric and 1 tsp ground pilau masala spice blend. I have shared my pilau masala mix on a previous post here.

Heat your sauce pan and add one tablespoon of cooking oil as well as the cumin seeds. Once the cumin starts sputtering, add the onion and let cook a while then add some garlic and the spices. Mix well and let cook a while, make sure they do not burn.

Add your pumpkin next.

Let the pumpkin cook completely in the masala mix till it is soft and mashed up. Then add the courgette and mix well, as well as salt and pepper.

The pumpkin may not be seen clearly but the flavour and taste are still present in the dish.

Add your cleaned rice, mix well to make sure each grain is covered with the oil /masala mix. Then add your 2 cups of water. Cover and lower the heat to low.

The simmering ensures the rice cooks evenly and all the water is absorbed.

The rice is tender, full of flavour and well cooked with no clumps or rice sticking to the bottom.

Fluff with a fork and serve with your accompaniment of choice.

I had mine with chana dal and mince curry, mint potatoes and some avocado slices. Yummy and filling!

Another meal that is nutritious, colourful, filling, has a wonderful aroma and is very tasty which is all we want in a home cooked meal right?