Kenyan · Dinner · Side dish

Ugali and Sukuma Wiki

Stiff maize meal cooked until it pulls away from the pan, served with collard greens fried with onion and tomato. Kenya's everyday plate.

40 min total Serves 4 servings Easy
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Ugali and Sukuma Wiki

Photograph credit: Ugali & Sukuma Wiki by Paresh Jai from Nairobi, Kenya · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Build the Meal Around Ugali and Sukuma Wiki

  • Nyama choma
  • A stewed meat or beans
  • Pili pili

How to Cook Ugali and Sukuma Wiki

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  1. For the sukuma, heat the oil and cook the onion for 8 minutes until soft and lightly coloured.

  2. Add the garlic and coriander for 1 minute, then the tomatoes, and cook 8 minutes until they break down.

  3. Add the shredded greens with the water, salt and pepper. Stir, cover, and cook 8 to 10 minutes only, until tender and still bright green.

  4. Uncover, let any liquid cook away, and finish with the lemon juice.

  5. For the ugali, bring the water and salt to a boil in a heavy pan.

  6. Add about a third of the maize meal, whisking, and cook 3 minutes to a smooth porridge.

  7. Add the rest of the maize meal in a steady stream while stirring with a strong wooden spoon. It will become very stiff very quickly.

  8. Now press and turn the mixture against the side of the pan, folding it over itself, for 8 to 10 minutes on low heat. It should become smooth and start pulling cleanly away from the pan.

  9. Shape it into a dome in the pan, cover, and steam 3 minutes.

  10. Turn out onto a plate in one piece. Serve with the sukuma, tearing off pieces of ugali by hand to scoop up the greens.

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A Few Notes

Turn and press the ugali for ten minutes. Undercooked, it tastes raw and grainy.

Greens for eight minutes only. They should stay green.

A heavy pan and a strong wooden spoon. This takes real effort.

Common Substitutions & Variations

  • An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Leftovers

Ugali is best fresh; it firms up cold and can be sliced and fried. Sukuma keeps 3 days.

Ugali and Sukuma Wiki Nutrition Facts

Per serving, an approximate calculation from the ingredient list. Treat it as a rough guide: an ingredient listed without an amount is not counted, so the figures run low. How the figures are worked out.

563Calories
14gProtein
93gCarbs
15gFat
15gFibre
5gSugar
1230mgSodium

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Compiled by Turab

Checked by script for timings, diet labels and nutrition arithmetic. How the recipes are checked. Found a mistake? Tell us.

First published ; last changed .