Ugali
The stiff white maize porridge at the heart of every Kenyan and Tanzanian meal: pinch, roll and scoop up your stew.
← Nouns Cooking · West & East African
Ingredients
- 1 l Water
- 320 g fine white maize meal (unga), plus extra if needed
- 1 pinch Salt (optional)
Method
- Bring the water to the boil in a heavy saucepan and add the salt, if using.
- Turn the heat to medium and pour in the maize meal slowly in a thin stream, whisking all the time to stop lumps forming.
- Swap the whisk for a sturdy wooden spoon. Keep stirring and pressing the mixture against the sides of the pan for 8–10 min, until it is very thick, pulls away from the pan and smells toasty. Add a little more meal for a firmer ugali.
- Wet a bowl, press the ugali into it to shape a dome and turn it out onto a plate. Serve hot with sukuma wiki, nyama choma or any stew: pinch off a piece, roll it in your palm and press a dip with your thumb to scoop.
Tips
- Sifting the maize meal first makes lump-free ugali much easier.
- Leftovers can be sliced and fried in a little oil until crisp.
Sources
Adapted from “Cookbook:Ugali (Maize Porridge)” in the Wikibooks Cookbook, under CC BY-SA 4.0. This adaptation is shared under the same licence.
Open Ugali in Nouns Cooking