Which Kenya Food Tickles YOUR Tastebuds?Trying Kenya food should be a key component of your Kenya Safari. Why? Because no arena of Kenyan life arguably reflects its rich and diverse heritage more than its food. And when it comes to culinary delights, people here swear by ugali, nyama choma and occasionally, mukimo. National Food?The national staple is ugali, which is often eaten with beef, chicken, goat or vegetable stew and sukuma (kale). In many cultures, a male guest to a home would be offended if a chicken meal was not prepared for him.A lot of nyama choma (roasted goat meat or beef) and some kuku choma (roasted chicken) are eaten during festivities or by revelers on weekends and holidays. My favorite nyama choma joint continues to be Sagret Hotel. If, like me, you prefer to have your nyama choma salted, be sure to so indicate as most of the food here is prepared without salt! A lot of the other food is region-specific. Find out the details of this below. Many Ways of Skinning (oops! Eating) a PotatoIn Central Province, potatoes are a local specialty and these are eaten in many forms. They are either simply boiled or boiled and mashed with green vegetables such as spinach with a good measure of whole maize beans and green peas sprinkled in with the resulting green meal referred to as mukimo.Another common meal is githeri where maize and beans are boiled together. Some of the other foods that are eaten in this region are arrow roots, sweet potatoes, plantain and cassava. Mombasa FOOD!The coast's contribution to Kenya Food is lots of spiced rice cooked with beef or mutton pieces (pilau), chapatti (a tasty pan-fried dough that is much thinner than a pizza base), mkate mayai which is a thin rolled pancake stuffed with fried eggs and minced meat, and sea food.Nothing Fishy Here!In Kisumu by the shores of Lake Victoria, no meal is complete without stewed or fried whole tilapia fish and this is often served with ugali or a nutritious dark brown millet or sorghum meal.Game Meat Anyone?If your audacious culinary instincts beckon while you are here, be sure to try out game meat which something of a Kenyan delicacy. Crocodile (which, if you can fathom it, tastes like a cross between fish and chicken), ostrich, zebra, wildebeest and impala feature on many restaurants' menus and are local favorites. The assumption is, of course, that these are procured from private ranches which rear them rather than the national parks.Fruit Lovers Shh...These meals are often washed down with fresh orange, pineapple, mango or passion fruit juices and desserts (and snacks) often consist of bananas, water melon, pineapple, paw paw, strawberries and sweetened avocado (I still eat mine salted and not as a dessert) which are available virtually all year round.Return from Kenya Food to Why Kenya?
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