I have been aware for a while that ugali is a very important food in Kenya. For some Kenyans, it is THE most important food and is better even than meat which is highly prized.
Ugali is made from unga which is maize flour. It is cooked with water and stirred robustly until it becomes a solid lump – somewhere in between mashed potato and congealed wallpaper paste. It’s not particularly unpleasant to my western palate – just a wee bit tasteless. It is usually served with beans, cabbage, green grams (lentils) or spinach but it can be served with anything,
One day when we were travelling, we ate a packed lunch of bread, bananas, large cartons of yoghurt, biscuits and nuts. “That was quite a substantial lunch”, I commented. Bonface looked at me with disbelief, “That was not lunch, Margaret. That was a snack. You cannot call it lunch if there is no ugali!” That’s me told.
Paul, Wasike and Bonface, in particular, are all from Western Kenya and truly believe there is no finer food on the planet. “Do people eat ugali in Scotland?” Bonface once asked me. When I told him they didn’t, his eyes filled with sorrow. “Then I could never go there. I would not survive.” He wasn’t joking. Edgah nodded his agreement and told us of a Kenyan footballer who plays in the English league. He has to import his ugali from home so that he will not starve.
Bonface explained that if there is a day he has not eaten ugali he cannot sleep. No matter how much food he has had, how full he is – it is just not possible to sleep. Sometimes he has had to get up and make it at 1am! Edgah and Wasike agree vigorously. It is the same for them.
That’s when it clicked with me. Ugali is not just food – it’s comfort! To a Kenyan, ugali conjurs up images and feelings of home, family, warmth, security, a full belly, your mother, reassurance, celebration, stability, success and relaxation. It is not possible for many Kenyans to imagine how they can have these experiences without it.
Most of all ugali means love. Our equivalent might be tea, wine, junk food, chocolate, chicken soup or whatever appeals to you. But in Kenya – it is just ugali.
And that is why ugali is the superfood of Kenya!
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