Let’s make our spice blend first :)). I decided to go with: rosemary, clove, cinnamon, bay leaves, turmeric, chili flakes, cumin and black pepper. All the spices were whole, which i proceeded to slightly toast, then crush with a kinu (pestle and mortar) since my spice crusher decided to break on this very day *sob*! I purchased ALL my whole spices from Tuskys but they are also available in CarreFour, Chandarana and Nakumatt with prices ranging between 60bob-180bob. You can use already crushed spices too though. I like crushing my own since I like my spice blend not to be too fine. Also, you can adjust the ratio of the spices and the mix to fit your preference and that is what makes cooking fun!
Once done, put that aside and get into cooking your chicken.
Chop your chicken into sizable pieces. Put them to boil together with 4 tablespoons of munyu mukhereka which will act as a meat tenderizer and add more flavor to it. Kuku kienyeji takes quite a long time to cook. You do not boil it until it is cooked through, but go further and boil it until it is tender. That can take up to 2 hours but if you have a pressure cooker, the time can be much shorter.
I know you may be thinking, what on earth is Munyu Mukhereka?!! Let me explain:
Munyu Mukerekha is a salt which also doubles up as a tenderizer widely used by Luhya people to add flavor and make certain foods softer or more tender. It is made from the ashes of burnt sun-dried bean pods or sun-dried matoke peels. The ash is then put in a perforated tin with some water and left undisturbed. The water drains through the perforated tin without debris but contains a lot of the sought after sour taste and alkalinity.
The resultant liquid is the munyu mukerekha. To tenderize, our kuku kienyeji, matumbo, meats (and kunde and sometimes meat too), we boil it with it. It is not compulsory, but makes a world of difference when used. In my opinion, it is a MUST HAVE for every kitchen.
Where can you get it? It is unfortunately not sold commercially (it used to be but production stopped) but you can always borrow from your Luhya neighbors. We are a giving people, so just ask them for some Munyu and you will be sorted! <3
Once the chicken is tender and the water had dried down, let it the chicken get a slight char then set aside.
In that same sufuria, add you red onion,chopped green bell pepper and minced garlic. This allows them to cook in the fat of the chicken and hence have a fuller flavor. I also did not want extra sufurias to wash ;)).
Once the onion and garlic is softened and fragrant add the tomatoes, and tomato paste plus some salt and 1/4 cup of hot water and allow this to cook down for about 4 minutes.
To continue reading, scroll down and click Next 👇👇👇
ADVERTISEMENT
