My wife hates Sukuma and Ugali!

Photo by Evan-Amos

Let me take a moment to introduce my dear wife, Mrs. Gitonga. She is a lovely girl I met in India and convinced her to come with me to Kenya. We Met around eleven years ago, while I was starting my Doctoral of Philosophy studies. It was love at first sight...or let me say, attraction at first sight. It didn’t take long before we became inseparable friends and as they say, the rest is history. But for the curious ones, yeah, we got married a few months ago, after over ten years of dating and growing our friendship from casual to best! She is my wife, my lover and my best friend.

But the story does not end there. Mrs. Gitonga has been ‘my partner in crime’ for all the years I have known her. She has been my travel companion in many of my trips I made in Asia. She would often tell her parents that ‘she would stay with her friends for few days to get help with her studies’. We both became ardent food critics and lovers. We tried everything from Chinese to South Indian; from Goan to Punjabi dishes; from oriental to western; from Indian to African! 

Mrs. Gitonga and I are what my physics teacher at Chuka High School called ‘like and unlike terms’. In almost everything we are very different. In India, we were called ‘the black and white photo’! Well, that’s just the beginning. Mrs. Gitonga is Indian and am Kenyan. She is a pure vegetarian and am not. She is short and I am tall…she hates Sukuma and Ugali and I am in love with that delicacy! 

Photo by Paresh Jai from Nairobi, Kenya

In our culinary journeys, Mrs. Gitonga and I had little for notes comparison. I found it a massive travesty of justice going to a nice restaurant in Pune like Incognito where we often shared our evening sweet nothings and ordering dal and rice which I could easily make at my place. So, we would order different food items. My favorite here was their beef steak, the famous Filet Mignon, which was half a pound of prime beef tenderloin, grilled to well done and served with red wine reduction and béarnaise sauce. She often went for Thai Curries served with steamed rice. 

Incongnito's Filet Mignon

Photos by Mrs. Gitonga

When we got married, I thought I will make an ultimate sacrifice of not cooking meats at our house and instead stick to vegetables. (I can eat meat while out for work!). The first few days after we came to Kenya, I tried, tenderly and lovingly, to introduce her to our Kenyan staple food, Sukuma wiki and Ugali. To my disappointment, Mrs. Gitonga was repulsive to such an amazing dish from the word go. She described Ugali as bland and Sukuma as tasteless even when flooded with an overkill of masalas! 

I wanted to know why she could not embrace Sukuma which was a very nutritious vegetable yet she was vegetarian. During my research, I found out that she was not alone. Many foreigners especially Westerners and Asians find Ugali bland and Sukuma tasteless unless if it’s well prepared. 

Nevertheless, I am still all praises for this amazing green leafy plant. In East Africa, we call it Sukuma Wiki, which translates to ‘push the week.’ It is a cheap alternative for eating with Ugali and so even the poor can easily afford it, hence the term, push the week, to elucidate its ability to help you manage with little income maybe till the day you can afford meat! Sukuma in English is colewart, or often referred to as collard greens. Many people mistake it to Kales. 

Sukuma has been eaten for more than 2000 years according to Wikipedia. Evidence has shown that ancient Greeks planted Sukuma and Kale for food.  In East Africa, Sukuma is eaten by both the rich and the poor. I once ate Sukuma at Maasai Mara Sopa Lodges when I stayed there for few days. It was one of the best Sukuma I have tasted. To impress upon my wife that Sukuma is a nice thing especially with Ugali, I took her to KFC in Nairobi and showed her that Sukuma and Ugali is actually served there! But alas, she was not impressed…

In Kenya, Ugali is a dish revered with religious proportions. Ugali is made from maize flour boiled with water to make a very thick porridge-like mixture. It is often served with Sukuma or other vegetables or can be eaten together with meet preparations. My good friend and the proprietor of Eagles Furnished Apartments told me that in Kisii where he comes from, Ugali is like a religion and a meal without Ugali is not counted as a meal. By the way, he is also married to an Indian but she is now an expert  in making Ugali and Managu! (but she too is not a fun of Ugali and Sukuma)!

Closing note

Before I published this blog (my wife didn’t know I was writing it), I asked my wife why she hates Sukuma and Ugali. She was quick to correct me, “Darling, I don’t hate Sukuma and Ugali, I am just not a fan, just like you don’t like pumpkins or brinjals.” 

I slyly smiled to myself. I knew I was making a progress in converting her to a real Kenyan wife, in love with her husband plus Sukuma and Ugali! The next day she prepared a nice dish of Sukuma and Ugali but she tweaked it a little to make it ‘more palatable’! My wife is an amazing cook and needless to say that her version of Sukuma and Ugali was the best I have tasted so far. Here is the recipe she shared with me. 

Mrs. Gitonga’s Sukuma Recipe

1 bunch of Sukuma, finely shredded (depending on the size of bunch)

3 tablespoons oil

1 chopped onions

1, chopped tomato

5 peeled garlic cloves

1 tea spoon turmeric powder

1 tea spoon coriander powder

1 tea spoon red chilli powder 

2 cubes of Maggi or Royco cubes (Vegetable flavour)

salt 

DIRECTIONS

·         Heat the oil in low frame for 30 seconds in a sufuria or any cooking pot you prefer  

·         Add the garlic and fry till brownish. 

·         Add onion and sauté until translucent. 

·         Add all the spices, salt and the cubes. Fry as you stir for a minute 

·         Add tomatoes and stir for a minute

·         Add Sukuma and stir the mixture. 

·         Reduce heat to low and simmer for around 20 minutes or until done. 

For Ugali, she added a rich serving of Blueband to enhance the taste and it worked like magic! 

In conclusion, I believe that since am a man of God, I will keep praying for my beautiful wife to fall in love with Sukuma and Ugali so that she can make it for us without me having to suggest. (lol!)