Kenyan Food Is the Best

My first mission trip was my first time on a plane; several planes to be exact. When I do something, I full hearted commit. I wrote a poem about the experience, because we were there for the people, not for the food.

We started at a local airport and then flew into Philadelphia. We missed our original plane there (because of weather setbacks) so we ended up catching a plane to Paris, France next, where my daughter enjoyed her first "real macaron". From there we went to Africa. Then another smaller plane trip from one area to the area where we were going to be staying. On the way back we flew to Doha, Qatar and then America. We had some interesting food experiences on that plane trip back.

However, Kenyan food is wonderful! I once ate some stew that was prepared for us there, and I had no clue what was in it, but I figured I would give it a try. I am from America where we keep goats in pens and maybe use them for milk, but I do not know of any farmer’s locally that kill their goats for meat. I am sure it probably does happen, it is just not readily available like hamburger meat or chicken over here in our grocery stores or on restaurant menus. However, I ended up eating goat. I have to admit, it was delicious. Even though the preacher did “Baaaa” at me to give me a hint after I had tried it, to let me know what I was eating.

There are several lists online to tell you what you must try while you are there, but some of these dishes I have tried, and while others within our group could not get enough of these dishes, they just were not my favorite. Below is a list as such. Then I will go into which two are my favorite and why.

https://delishably.com/world-cuisine/30-Foods-You-should-eat-in-Kenya

So first on the list is above is ugali (pronounced u-gaul-e). I was not a fan. I think it’s because it’s made with cornmeal. It is sticky, which makes it perfect for picking up food with (because utensils are not always used when eating in Kenya). It just was a little mealy or something to me. Or just kind of plain, no matter what I paired it with. I have issues with food consistency though (like I hate pudding) so it could have been a more texture than taste issue.

I will not go down the list, one by one. However, I did want to highlight the importance of ugali because it makes number one on several lists you can find online, and one member of our group absolutely loved this dish to pair with others. I was just not a fan.

Now, for the one I believe should have been listed first; chapatis (pronounced cha-paut-es). Oh my goodness gracious. This is another one of those dishes that is meant to help you create your meal and be less messy. These lovely creations could be rolled up with meat inside, or you could tear them apart like a roll and push your food into it, or do like I did a many of times where I would get one just to sop up gravy from the meat. I could even eat them by themselves but something about dipping it into the meat gravy just was perfect. My mother in law recreated these when we came back to the States. It was great. Best part was watching the women from the church cook these over a fire outside. I even got to make one, when they saw me watching. So good and so much fun!

Ok. I’m officially drooling over here. I am just saying, find the recipe, make the things, and try it with a stew. You will thank me.

To now move on to the dessert portion, mandazis (pronounced man-dauz-es). These were fried dough like donuts. They were wonderful with chai which we had for breakfast break many mornings. We would eat breakfast at the place we stayed at, and then would bring snacks for lunch, knowing that supper would be at someone’s home and we needed to save room. Sometimes we ate supper back where we had stayed that day instead of someone’s home. Either way we knew supper would be a bigger meal. There was a morning break time though where mandazis and chai would be offered and we would take a moment to enjoy. Just like the article I linked above says, these two came together and paired well. I liken it to someone grabbing a quick glazed donut and coffee for a mid morning snack; same concept. They were light and fluffy and the perfect companion to the chai tea, served hot obviously.

It is funny how your memories are affected by the senses. Smells, tastes, sounds, sights and touch are all wrapped into how you remember something. When I think of our trip to Kenya the two favorite dishes I refer to above are a big part of that memory. We have talked so much about these dishes that my mother in law has tried to make both and was successful if I remember correctly. They just are not something we recreate each day, but are part of that special memory of going on our first mission trip, for myself and my daughter.