Today’s Lunch – BAMIA UGALI – Okra and Maize Dumpling

Okra and Ugali

This African classic is a simple and fresh lunch that fills you up!

Dip and eat

TAMBI – Sweet Cardamom Pasta

TAMBI - Sweet Cardamom Pasta

Ingredients:

10 spagettini nests

1/4 cup sugar

3 Tbsp oil

1/8 tsp ground cardamom

Recipe:

Spagettini Nest

Boil spagettini nests for 8 minutes.

Be careful not to over boil

After about 2 minutes of boiling start “unwind” nests.  Use a fork to stir and separate nests, to make sure there isn’t any small clumps of pasta.

Separate nests

Drain and return pot to the burner.  Add oil, sugar and cardamom.  Turn down heat to low.

Turn to low

Add drained pasta.

add pasta

Mix together and cover on low for 10 minutes.

Cover for 10 minutes

Give thanks let’s eat!

Give thanks let’s eat!

Serving Size:

3 adults

Preparation Time:

20 min

NDIZI MBIVU – Sweet Cardamom Plantain

Creamy goodness

Ingredients:

3 Ripe Plantain Banana

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups Coconut milk

1/8 tsp (2 pinches) ground cardamom

Don’t be afraid of the black banana!

The blacker the Plantain the better!  The softer they are the more sweet they are.  BUT yellow, like this one, works too(it just has to boil longer to get soft and more sugar to sweeten the recipe).

Recipe:

Peel plantains.Make sure to scrape the banana, to remove stringy banana bits.

Peel and scrape plantain

Or alternatively cut into the skin and outer flesh of the plantain.

To avoid stringy bits in the sauce, instead of peeling you can cut off the skin and outer flesh of the Plantain banana.

Cut Plantain in half and then half again. Cut plantain length wise to expose seeds.

slice banana length wise exposing inside (seeds) of plantain

Remove seeds and core (It is hard and unpleasant in the sauce)

Remove core

Boil in 2 cups of water for 10 minutes.

Boil

Add coconut milk, sugar and cardamom.

Use finely ground cardamom!

Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Simmer for 15 minutes

Or until you have a creamy consistency.

Creamy goodness

Serve with Coconut Rice or Chapati or on its own.

Serving Size:

3 adult sides

Preparation Time:

45 min.

MAHARAGE – Coconut Beans

Maharage - Coconut Beans

MAHARAGE – Coconut Beans.