Njugu and Njahi Recipe

Njugu (Pigeon pea)

Ingredients

• 1 cup green maize
• 1 cup pigeon peas
• 1 kg potatoes
• Salt to taste

Wash pigeon peas and soak them overnight.

Boil the maize and pigeon peas together until soft.

Peel the potatoes, add to the cooked mixture, and continue cooking until they are soft.

Drain any excess water. Season with salt and mash to a fine consistency.

Serve hot with meat stew or vegetable salad.

The dish (Njugu) is mainly served to in-laws among the Kikuyu community.

Njahi (Lablab)

Njahi is bean that has traditionally been served for mothers of new-born babies as a special delicacy and also because it is very nutritious and contains a lot of iron.

Ingredients

• 2 cups lablab beans
• 2 cups green or dry maize
• 1 kg Irish potatoes
• 3 green bananas (cooking types)
• 3 ripe bananas (preferably Kiganda)
• 2 bunches pumpkin leaves
• 2 tbsp margarine
• Salt to taste

Method

Sort out, wash and soak the lablab beans and maize overnight (if dry).

Boil the mixture until soft and well cooked.

Peel the potatoes, green bananas and wash and chop the vegetables. Add the ingredients to the boiling mixture and some salt to taste.

When they are nearly ready place the ripe bananas on top to steam hot.

Strain all the liquid from the pot, add margarine and mash.

Variation

Ripe bananas may be omitted if the sweet taste is not desired.Pumpkin leaves may be omitted and 'Njahi' served with vegetable salad.

Polished Sorghum Pilau

Ingredients

• 2 cups polished sorghum
• 2 cups green grams
• 2 medium size onions
• 3 medium size carrots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tbsp pilau masala
• 2 tbsp cooking fat
• salt to taste

Clean and wash the sorghum and green grams.Cook in water until soft but not mashy.

Chop the onions and the carrots and pound the garlic.

Fry the onion in the fat until golden brown.

Add the garlic and fry further.Add in the pilau masala, then the carrots and finally the tomatoes and simmer or five minutes.

Add the sorghum/green grams mixture, two cups water and stir.Allow to simmer until well cooked.Add hot water if necessary.

Serve hot with a salad and sauce.

Kikuyu-Black Beans

This is one of the famous food that cannot be missed in any important occasions of the Kikuyu tribe e.g. marriage negotiation, wedding etc. There are different ways of preparing the black beans and this method is a Kiambu district style.

Ingredients

• 1 kg black beans
• 10 Green bananas
• 5 ripe bananas
• Salt to taste

Boil the black beans till they are ready without a pressure cooker it can take up to 4 hours.

Boil the green bananas and when they are about to be ready add the ripe ones and mash hem together.

Meanwhile sieve your blackbeans and mash them alone till you see no whole beans. This is done with a big wooden spoon called muiko then add your bananas and mix well. Add very little salt to taste.

Serves up to 6 adults with vegetables and soup.

In the old days it was cooked on earthen pot and stored in a big calabash/tray made of grass and smeared with cow dung.(Kitaruru)