7.3.12

Recipe for Sukuma Wiki

We (Faders) have received a number of email inquiries about the recipe for sukuma wiki (the dish of tasty cooked greens that we highlighted a few posts ago). So for those of you who might be interested in a new idea for dinner sometime, here's the recipe....Sukuma Wiki Ingredients:
- Large bunch of kale (or sukuma wiki leaves if you live in East Africa)
- 2 Tablespoons of oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced
- 1 heaping Tablespoon Sukuma Spice Mix

Sukuma Spice Mix Ingredients:
- 1 t cornstarch or 2 t flour
- 1 t salt
- 1 t sugar
- 1 t ginger
- 1 t coriander
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t cumin
- 1 t boullion
- 1 t turmeric
- 1/2 t fennel (we couldn't find ground fennel, so we use fennel seeds)
NOTE: this amount of Sukuma Spice Mix is about right for 2 large bunches of kale, which would feed about 6-8 people.

DISCLAIMER: In Kenya, sukuma wiki is typically made with a Kenyan-made spice mix called Mchuzi Mix. Our homemade mix is similar but not the same. If you're looking for the real Mchuzi Mix, you can find it in every single duka in Kenya for less than 100 Shillings, or in the US, you can sometimes find it on Amazon for about ten times the price. We recommend the homemade Sukuma Spice Mix recipe above.

Directions:
1. Wash the kale, remove the stems, and chop the leaves into very thin strips/pieces. One chopped bunch equals about 8-10 C of chopped kale. Don't worry; it will cook down to a much smaller-looking amount. Set aside the kale until step 4, and proceed to step 2.
2. Over medium heat, sautee the onion, tomatoes, oil, and 1 heaping Tablespoon of the spice mix.
3. When the onion and tomatoes are soft, add 1/2 cup of water and stir.
4. Add the kale,and continue to cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes

Serve hot with ugali and chapatis. If you're not familiar with making those, you could serve with rice and/or tortillas. If you're curious about ugali and chapatis, we can post about them sometime.

I thought about including a picture of the finished product sukuma wiki, but it doesn't LOOK as appetizing as it TASTES, so we'll leave you now to your cooking . Bon apetit! We would love to hear how you like it if you give sukuma wiki a try.

4 comments:

Sarah Halter said...

Sweet! I only know how to make sukuma with Royco. I have several jars right now, but this is great to know! I often add green pepper (with the onions and tomato) and cilantro (towards the end). I prefer Kale but we also do collard greens.

Anonymous said...

Thank you! I love the flavour of Mchuzi Mix, but hate all the weird ingredients and the fact that it's made by unilever. I tried this recipe and it is *better* than the Royco mix. I love it! Thanks again!

Melanie said...

Making this for Thanksgiving this year. Because nothing reminds me to be thankful more than sukuma and ugali alongside ones turkey.

Unknown said...

Thamks for sharing the recipe. My friend is from Kenya and when he first made Sukuma Wiki for me, I loved it! He brings home Royco to the US for me when he goes home to visit Kenya. Now that I've made Sukuma Wiki for my husband, it is requested at home once a month. I always run out of Royco before my friend goes back to Kenya, so am glad to have another option.