Traditional Green Vegetable Recipes

Amaranth (terere) spinach served with mashed pumpkin

Ingredients:

½  kg               amaranth leaves

1 medium         pumpkin, seeded and peeled

1 medium         onion, diced.

2 medium         tomatoes, chopped.

1 tbsp               vegetable oil.

½ cup               milk.

½ tsp                salt (or salt to taste)

Preparation:

• Wash the pumpkin and sprinkle with salt, place the pumpkin in a large pot (sufuria) with water.

•  Cover and boil for ten minutes or until the pumpkin flesh is tender, then drain away water and mash the pumpkin with a wooden spoon.  Set aside for later use.

• Add oil to a pot (sufuria) over medium heat, add diced onions and cook for 1 minute or till until soft and cleared, add chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add the washed amaranth leaves (terere), stirring constantly until the mixture is thoroughly heated and the leaves are falling apart. Mix milk with the cooked vegetables, stir and add salt to taste. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. 

• Serve the cooked spinach by pouring over mashed pumpkin.  Yields four to six servings.

This recipe was  contributed by James Kangethe Muthondu, Kathmut Agency, Nairobi.

Amaranth, spiderplant and groundnut relish

Ingredients:

1/4 kg              amaranth (1 large bunch)

1/4 kg              spiderplant (1 large bunch)

2 tbsp               shortening or cow fat

1 medium         onion, chopped

2 medium         tomatoes, chopped

1/2 cup            groundnut powder

3 tbsp               water
1 tsp                 salt

Preparation:

• Clean and wash both the green vegetables, chop the vegetables, onion and tomatoes and set aside for later.  Heat the shortening or fat and fry the onion until soft and  brown.  Add the tomatoes, stir and cook until soft.   

• Add the green leafy vegetables, stir, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Mix the groundnut powder into a smooth paste and add to the simmering vegetables, then salt to taste.  Cook for an additional 5 minutes. 

• Preparation yields four to six small portions and is best served while hot with ugali or mashed bananas.

This recipe was contributed by Adija Baaaza, Ministry of Agriculture, Kisumu.

Amaranth spinach (mchincha) in coconut milk

Ingredients:

1 kg                 amarath leaves (muchicha)

1 litre                water

½ litre               coconut milk

1 medium         onion, chopped

2 medium         tomatoes, chopped

1 tblsp              vegetable oil

1 tsp                 salt

Preparation:

• Wash the amaranth (mchicha) and  place it in a large pot containing boiling water and salt and boil until the leaves are tender (about 15 minutes). 

• Add oil to a pan, when hot add the chopped onion then cook till golden brown. 

• Add chopped tomatoes and cook until soft.  Add the boiled amaranth leaves, stirring occasionally.  Add the coconut milk and boil for 12 minutes.

• This preparation provides 4 to 6 medium servings and is best served with ugali or rice.

This recipe was contributed by Ruth Kariakim, Ngong, Rift Valley.

Amaranth spinach with creamy groundnut

Ingredients:

1 kg                  amaranth leaves (4 bunches)

¼ litre               water

1 medium         onion, chopped

1 litre                milk (boiled or pasturized)

¼ kg                groundnut flour

½ tsp                salt 

1 tbsp               traditional salt (optional)

Preparation:

• Separate amaranth leaves from the stems, discard the stems and wash the leaves with water until clean.

• Add water and traditional salt to a pot and heat until boiling, then add the amaranth leaves, cover and boil for 20 minutes.

• Add groundnut flour, chopped onion and  salt, stir well, cover and then simmer for 5 minutes.

• Add milk, stir well, cover and boil for an additional 5 minutes.

• This preparation serves four to six medium portions and is best served while hot accompanied by ugail.

This recipe was contributed by Rose Nafula Wanjala, Bungoma Family  Development  Programme, Bungoma , Western Kenya.

Cowpea leaves (kunde) Luhya-style

Ingredients:

1 kg                 cowpea leaves

4 medium         tomatoes, chopped

3 medium         onions including tops, chopped and sliced

2 cloves           garlic, finely diced

½ tbsp              salt

2 tbsp               cooking fat (traditional ghee) or shortening

1 liter                Luhya grine (omusherekha, preparation below)

Preparation: 

• Wash cowpeas leaves in water and add to 1 litrre of boiling Luhya Brine in a pot over medium heat, simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set cooked leaves aside, the Luhya Brine is now green in colour. 

• Place cooking fat into a pan over medium heat, add onion, tomatoes, garlic and salt.  Fry the mixture for five minutes or until cooked, stirring often. 

• Add the cooked cowpea leaves and water to fried mixture and stir until it begins to simmer.  Add one small packet (one pint or 500 ml) whole milk, take to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes.  Kunde spinach is best eaten with ugali.  Serves four to six.

• The same ingredients and cooking instructions can be used to cook other green vegetables, mushrooms and/or dried meat.

Preparing traditional Luhya cooking brine (omusherekha).

• Dry 10 to 15 pods of green beans after removing the immature seeds, burn the pods over a hot, dry pan, collect the burned pods and pass one litre of clean water through the pods using a sieve (olusherekho is a traditional Luhya earthen sieve). 

• The resultant brine water is called omusherekha.  Traditional Luhya cooking brine is not only a preservative, but has many other uses such as reducing animal fats or making traditional salt (omonyu omufume).

This recipe was contributed by Andanje B. Mafunga, Department of Culture,  Nairobi.

Cowpea leaves in soyabean sauce (Likhubi)

Ingredients:

1 kg                  cowpea leaves (4 bunches)

1/2 cup             water

2 tsp                 traditional salt (local ash)

1 tbsp               cooking fat or shortening

1 medium         onion, chopped

1 cup                soyabean paste (see below)

1 tsp                 salt (or salt to taste)

Preparation:

• Wash the cowpea leaves and chop into small pieces.  Melt cooking fat in a pot and add the chopped onion, stirring occasionally and fry until golden brown. Add in the tomatoes and continue to stir. 

• Add cowpea leaves, stirring constantly, add water and the traditional salt (or local ash), bring to boil and simmer for 10 minutes. 

• Add the soyabean paste, stirring occasionally and bring to a slow boil for 10 minutes.  Season with salt to taste. Yields  four to six servings and is best served with ugali. 

• Soyabean paste: Wash ½ kg of dried soyabean, add to salted water, cook for 30 minutes or until soyabeans are soft, discard water and mash soyabeans with a large spoon until a paste is formed.

Recipe contributed by Emma Auma Obuya, Nelaa Kilimo Group, Murumba, Busia.

Cream of nightshade spinach

Ingredients:

1 kg                 young and tender solanum leaves (kisochot)

1 cup                water

90 ml                cream

1 medium         onion, chopped

1 medium         tomato, chopped

1tbsp                salt

2 tbsp               vegetable oil

Preparation:

• Pinch the leaves of solanum from the main stalk while retaining a very small leaf stem.  Wash the leaves in a basin and drain off the water. 

• Bring the water to boil and put the leaves into the boiling water and leave to boil for about 25 minutes, then remove from fire and drain excess water. 

• Heat vegetable oil in a pan and add the chopped onions, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft.  Add tomatoes and the boiled solanum leaves and cook for two minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Add the cream and a liter water, cover and simmer, covered for five minutes.

• This preparation makes four servings and is best served while hot with ugali.  An alternative recipe involves the addition of 1 to 2 cups of other traditional green vegetables, particularly spider plant or amaranth, with the solanum.

Recipe contributed by Mathew K. Kwambai, Agro-Conserve Youth Forum, Iten, Keiyo District, Rift Valley Province.

Crotalaria and jute with boiled milk

Ingredients:

1 kg                  crotolaria leaves

½  kg                jute leaves

½ litre               water

1 tsp                 salt

2 tbsp               traditional salt (preparation below)

½ litre               fresh milk

Preparation:

• Wash the crotalaria and jute leaves, drain and and leave dry for several minutes. Mix the ½ litre water and 3 tablespoons of African salt. Add 1 tablespoon ordinary salt.

• Boil the mixture of water and African salt and ordinary salt to boiling point. Add the crotolaria and jute leaves mixed together. 

• Boil the leaves for 20 minutes while turning and stirring occasionally.

• Add ½ litre milk, stir gently and simmer for 10 minutes.

• The preparation yields from four to six medium portions and is best served with ugali.

This recipe was contributed by Mary Wangila, Matunda Self-Help Group, Bokoli, Bungoma.

Crotalaria and jute mixed spinach Luhya-style

Ingredients:

½ kg                  crotolaria leaves (2 large bunches)

¼ kg                  jute leaves (1 large bunch)

2 tbsp                traditional salt (munyu) procedure below

1 tbsp                cooking oil, shortening or cow fat

2 medium          tomatoes, chopped

1 medium          onion, chopped

¼ litre                cow’s milk

1 tsp                  salt.

Preparation:

• Remove leaves only from the stem of both crotalaria and jute and mix the two types of leaves together. 

• Wash the leaves with clean water and allow to drain.  Put the vegetables leaves in the boiling traditional salt and cover the pot. The vegetable should boil in ½ litre of water for 30 minutes with constant stirring. 

• Remove the pot from the store and pour out the water.  Place the vegetables in a separate container and use the pot for frying. 

• Fry the onion in cooking oil until brown in colour.  Add the chopped tomatoes and salt and cooked for 2 additional minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Add the cooked green vegetable mixture to the pot containing tomatoes and onions cook for an additional 5 minutes.  Add ¼ liter of milk and boil for an additional 3 minutes. Recipe yields four to six medium portions and is best served hot with ugali.

Preparation of  traditional salt (munyu mukherekha):

• This salt is used for softening leaves of traditional spinaches because they are often bitter and stringy. It also gives a nice taste and attractive green colour to the food.. 

• It is prepared by filtering ash from burnt maize cob by using a perforated tin. The clear filtrate is collected in a clean container.

Recipe contributed by Ruth Adeka, Herbarium, National Museums of Kenya, Nairobi.

Crotolaria and pumpkin leaves with groundnut

Ingredients:

¼ kg                crotolaria leaves (mitoo, 1 bunch)

¼ kg                pumpkin leaves (riseveve, 1 bunch)

200 g               roasted groundnuts (ground to powder)

2 tsp                salt or traditional ash

1 tbsp              cooking oil, shortening or margarine

1 small             onion, chopped

1 medium         tomato, chopped

1/4 litre             water or stock

Preparation:

• Add salt or ash to ¼ litre of water in a pan, add a handful of vegetables at a time, cover the pan and boil the vegetables until tender.  Drain the vegetables and keep stock for use. 

• Place the cooking oil in a hot pan, add onion and cook for a few minutes until tender.  Add the tomato and cook until tender. 

• Mix the groundnut flour with a little stock and and to the pan, then add the vegetables and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Preparation yields four to six medium-sized portions and is best served hot with mashed banana or ugali.

Recipe contributed by Rosemary C. Sande, Lugaga Self Help Group, Maragoli, Vihiga.

Green Porridge (Runguru: arrowroot leaves and finger millet)

Ingredients:

½ kg                Finger millet flour

1 kg                 arrowroot leaves

2 litres              water

½ tsp               Bicarbonate of Soda (icuui)

2 tbsp               honey (optional)

Procedure:

• Place two liters of water in a large pot and set on a fire.  Wash six to eight large arrowroot leaves, peeling away the skin of the petiole and leaf veins and cut the remaining leaf thinly. 

• Add the cut leaves to the hot water, add ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and boil for 20 minutes until very tender. 

• Beat the boiled leaves with a whisk while still on the fire until the leaves form a watery paste. 

• Run through a strainer and use the watery paste to make porridge.

• Place watery paste back over the fire and when hot, adding ½ kg of finger millet and boil the porridge for 10 minutes, stirring often.  Cool the resulting green and add honey. 

• This preparation provides four to six servings.

Contributor’s Note: Green porridge is rich in calcium and iron which are helpful in the formation of strong healthy bones and teeth, especially important for pregnant women.  Green porridge is also used as medicine for very colds and coughs.

This recipe was contributed by Doreen Kirunjaen, Chogoria, Meru, Kenya.

Stir -fried water spinach (ong choi) Chinese-style

Ingredients:

1 kg                        water spinach stems and leaves

2 tbsp                     cooking oil

1 medium               onion, cut into wedges

1 small                    clove of garlic, minced

1 tsp                       fresh ginger, minced (or powdered)

1 tbsp                     soya sauce

½ tsp                      sugar

½ tsp                      salt

Preparation:

• Wash water spinach (carefully looking for snails) and cut stems into 1 to 2 cm lengths and leaves into 5 cm pieces.  Place cooking oil into a hot pan, add onion and garlic, stirring often.  

• When tender, add cut water spinach, ginger, salt and sugar into the pan, stirring constantly. 

• Stir-fry for five minutes or until stem pieces are tender, add soya sauce and stir a final time.

• Preparation yields four to eight medium portions and is best served with steamed rice. 

• This recipe is based upon contemporary Hawaiian cooking.

This recipe was provided by Paul L. Woomer, a former resident of Hawaii now living in Nairobi.

Jane’s mixed spinach

Ingredients:

0.2 kg               amaranth shoots (terere, 1 bunch)

0.2 kg               cowpea shoots (kunde, 1 bunch)

0.2 kg               spider plant shoots (saget, 1 bunch)

0.2 kg               solanum shoots (managu,1 bunch)

0.2 kg               Swiss chard (1 bunch)

½ cup                water

1 medium           onion, diced

3 medium           tomatoes, chopped

1 tbsp                 cooking oil

½ tbsp                salt

Preparation:

• Separate the leaves from the stems of amaranth, cowpea, solanum and spider plant, discard the stems and wash the leaves with clean water. 

• Slice the leaves of cowpea and washed Swiss chard into smaller sizes, similar to that of the other leaves. 

• Add salt to ½ cup of water and bring to a near boil, then add the washed leaves of amaranth, cowpea, solanum, spider plant and Swiss chard, bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes, without stirring. 

• Set cooked spinach aside for later use.

• Take a clean pan, add cooking oil and place on medium heat, brown onion, add tomato, stirring frequently, then add the cooked spinach, stir and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring frequently. 

• Mixed spinach is best eaten while hot with ugali or rice.  This preparation yields four to six servings medium-sized servings. 

Recipe contributed by Jane Kabasanga, a Ugandan, living in Nairobi.

Pumpkin leaves with coconut milk

Ingredients:

1 kg                  young pumpkin leaves (4 bunches)

½ cup               water

½ tsp                salt

1 tbsp               cooking oil

1 medium         onion, diced

1 small              chili pepper (optional)

½ tsp                powdered ginger (or crushed fresh ginger root)

½ tsp                curry powder

½ tbsp              peanut butter (or groundnut paste)

1 cup                coconut milk (or 4 tablespoons of coconut powder)

Preparation:

• Separate pumpkin leaves from stems, discard stems and wash leaves with clean water. Chop pumpkin leaves into small pieces.

•  Add ½ cup of water and salt, bring to near boil, add chopped pumpkin leaves, return to boil and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Set the cooked leaves aside. 

• In a clean pot, add cooking oil over medium heat, add onion and chili, stirring frequently and when soft add cooked pumpkin, ginger and curry powder, stirring frequently for 5 to 8 minutes.

•  When ingredients are well blended, add coconut milk and peanut butter, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 additional minutes, stirring occasionally and taking care to add more water as necessary.

• Pumpkin leaves with coconut milk is best served with rice.  This preparation serves four to six small portions.

Contributed by Paul Woomer and Lorna Bwari, Nairobi, Kenya.

Spider plant (saka) cooked with sour milk

Ingredients:

1 kg                 spiderplant leaves (4 bunches)

1 litre                water

½ litre               sour milk

1 tsp                 cooking fat

½ tsp                salt

Preparation:

• Separate the leaves and stems of spider herb, discard the stems and wash  leaves with fresh water and drain. 

• Bring 1 litre water to a boil, add the leaves and allow this to simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. 

• Add the cooking fat and salt and stir and then add the sour milk.  Simmer for an additional 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Preparing spider plant vegetable with milk reduces this green’s bitter taste. 

• Fresh milk may be substituted for sour milk. 

• Preparation yields 4 portions and is best serve with ugali or wimbi (cooked finger millet).

Recipe contributed by Jenneffer Etyang’, St. Marks Womens Group, Amagoro, Teso.

Spider plant with sweet potato and pumpkin

Ingredients:

1 kg                 spider plant (Kisii chinsaga, 4 bunches)

¼ kg                sweet potatoes

¼ kg                pumpkin

2 litre                water

1 tsp                salt

Preparation:

• Remove impurities and stems from spider plant (chinsaga), discard stems and place leaves in a basin.

• Wash the leaves thoroughly using clean water. 

• Peel 300 gm sweet potatoes or and 300 gm pumpkin and cut it into small cubes of about 2.5 cm.

• Place a medium-sized pot containing the water on a medium fire, bring to a boil and add salt.  When the water is boiling, slowly add the spider plant leaves taking care not to compact the leaves as they cook.

• Add the sliced sweet potatoes and pumpkin, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, remove the cover and stir gently.

• After another 15 minutes remove from the fire.

• The preparation may be eaten immediately but is considered to be most tasty if allowed to stand for six hours and then reheated, served and eaten at least some 6 or more hours after cooking it.

• This recipe yields 8 to 10 portions and is best served with freshly prepared ugali or wimbi (finger millet).  

Recipe contributed by Lameck Nyangena, Kenya Tea Development Authority, Kisii.

Spider Plant with coconut milk

Ingredients:

1 kg                  spider plant leaves (4 bunches)

1 litre                water

1 tsp                 salt

1 medium         onion

3 medium         tomatoes

½ litre               coconut milk

Preparation:

• Harvest the young spider plant leaves including the stem tips then remove the leaf stalks.

• Wash the leaves with clean water and cut into small pieces. 

• Place into a pot containing 1 litre of water containing 1 teaspoon of salt and boil over a medium fire for 30 minutes.

• As the leaves cook, drain excess water from the pot and add more clean water every 10 minutes. 

• When leaves are cooked, drain excess water (if any), mash in pot and add oil (or cow fat).

• After 3 minutes, add onions and cook for 3 minutes, then add tomatoes and coconut milk (or fresh cow’s milk), then cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

• Provides 4 to 6 medium portions.  Best serve with chapati, rice or ugali.

• To mix with other vegetables, boil pumpkin leaves and spider plant separately. When cooked, mix both then mash in one pot.

• Spider plant is said to replenish blood and therefore referred to as a  'traditional meat'.

This recipe was contributed by Maryam Imbumi, Kenya Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge, Nairobi.