MSETO – Muung Beans and Rice with Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Muung Beans

1 cup Rice (Basmati)

3/4 coconut milk 1/4 water mixed

1/2 tsp salt

Recipe:

Rinse the Muung Beans

Rinse the beans and boil for 25 minutes (start the timer when the water is boiling)

Rolling Boil 25 minutes

Drain water.

Muung Beans should look like this split and soft

Add water/ coconut milk mix and salt to Muung beans and bring to a boil.  Add rice.

Stir gently

Turn down to medium low with the lid on for 10 minutes…stir gently one last time at about 2 minutes after adding the rice.

Take the lid off

Take the lid off to let the rice “dry out” for 20 minutes or up to 1 hour on your stoves LOWEST setting! (This step makes the rice super tasty with a crunchy bottom)

Serving Size:

4 adults

Preparation Time:

1 hour

*Traditionally this dish is topped with honey but we like to eat it with sweet fruits like papaya, mango, banana, etc…and top it with tomato sauce.

It is said that this dish is an aphrodisiac for women!?!

Tell me what you think ladies!

Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce

Ingredients:

1/4 cup red onion

1/4 cup green pepper

2 roma tomato peeled

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Recipe:

Peel the tomato

Cut onion, green pepper and tomato for sauce.  Don’t forget to peel tomato.

Chop everything small

Fry onions and green peppers for 5 minutes on medium. Add tomatoes and let soften (about 3 minutes)

Crush up tomato until it is smooth in the sauce

Crush the tomatoes until the sauce is smooth.  Add salt and pepper. (Taste)

Tomato Sauce

Preparation Time:

10 minutes

Serving Suggestion:

Great on Pasta, Rice, Mseto, etc…

Today’s Supper

Coconut Rice and Papaya

Ever feel like just eating something simple?

MMMMMMMM- This looks good!

Sweet Cardamom Plantain in Coconut Sauce and Rice

Yummy!  Ready to eat!

Today’s Menu

Lunch time!

Boiled Green Plantain with Salsa and Hot Sauce Dip

Do you ever have those days where you just want to take it easy but the kids “gotta” eat?

FALAFEL

Falafel

Ingredients:

2 cups dried chick pea

1/2 cup red onion

3 garlic cloves

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp red hot chili peppers

Recipe:

Soak the dried chick peas over night. (The canned chickpeas don’t work for this recipe)

soak over night and rinse

Put your oil, about an inch deep, in the pan and let heat.

Rinse and put some into food processor with garlic.  Blend until chickpeas are smashed and crumbly. Repeat using the onion.

do the same with onion

Add cilantro to the last batch mashed. Make sure to scrape down the sides of food processor.

Blend until consistency is crumbly

When the oil is hot make small balls and drop them into the pan.  Turn after they are browned (after about 3 minutes). Continue with each side.

Turn turn turn

When all sides are brown they are ready to take out of the pan and put on papertowel.

Falafel ready!

And delicious…

They ate so fast I didn't get a picture!!

HUMMUS

Hummus and Carrots

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups chick peas

1 cup chick pea water(if it’s fresh) or 1 cup tap water

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup tahini

juice of 2 lemons (4 or 5 Tbsp)

1/8 cup fresh cilantro

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne

Recipe:

Clean and soak 1 cup chickpeas over night and boil 1 and 1/2 hours with a pinch of salt…or do as I do and forget (then you have to boil for 3 hours and let sit for another 1 hour). Let cool for 30 minutes.

boil chickpeas

Add garlic and cooked cooled chickpeas to a food processor (you can mash by hand but the processor is so much easier)

Garlic first

then tahini, water, salt and the juice of 2 lemons.

juice of 2 lemons

Blend 2 minutes and then add cilantro and paprika.  Blend until smooth.

blend

Hummus is ready to eat with raw veggies, on a veggie burger, on a pita, or with bajia? (stay tuned for that one)

Preparation time:

2 hours (including boiling time)

Serving Size:

party size bowl for appetizer

Lailati loves Hummus!

WALI WA NAZI – Coconut Rice

WALI WA NAZI -Coconut Rice (*note: the crispy brown bottom)

This is a hard recipe because I never measure.

Recipe:

Bring a 2 qt pot* of water to a boil.  Add salt generously (4-5 Tbsp) to boiling water.

*The pot that you use for rice should be wide bottomed.  Rice likes to be stretched out in a pot not piled on itself.

Salt generously because you'll be pouring it out later

Add rice to a slow count of 8 (or add 3 cups).

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8

Stir rice and turn down a little (to avoid splashing out of the pot).

Be careful not to over stir rice!

Leave boiling for 4 minutes (5 or 6 minutes if it’s Basmati).  You want to try some “kernels” of rice.  If they are still a little crunchy the rice is ready to drain. 

Drain salt water.

Add 1 1/2 cup coconut milk to the rice (on the burner).  Stir in coconut milk but take care not to over stir and get mushy rice.

Add 1 1/2 cup coconut milk

Cover turn to a high low (like #4) for 4 minutes…this creates a golden bottom crust (ymmmmmm).  After 4 min. turn to low or minimum.

cover

Leave covered on low/minimum for 10 minutes.   After 10 minutes taste rice.  Is it still hard?  If it is cover for another 5minutes…repeat if nessecary.

Finish by uncovering the pot for up to 20 minutes (10 minutes works but the longer the rice cooks the drier it becomes).

Serve HOT!

(even though it tastes good cold too)

WALI WA NAZI -Coconut Rice

Preparation Time:

30 minutes

Serving Size:

3 adult suppers

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.