mayurisjikoni

Should that be the veggie national dish of UK?      Its really baffling that though mogo, cassava, tapioca, yuca does not grow in UK, every Indian restaurant will offer mogo as a starter. Be it chilli mogo, garlic mogo, garlic chilli mogo, chilli garlic mogo, dry or with gravy,fried. I still have to come across a popular Indian restaurant in UK not serving this dish. It seems it is a popular dish among the Indians. Everytime we go out for dinner as a family(huge one), mogo is always ordered. I tasted this dish for the first time in a popular Indian restaurant we had gone to years back.      A few days ago, Esther my veggie lady as I call her, brought fresh mogo and insisted that I buy some (she grows them on her farm). I bought it not knowing what I will do with it. Suddenly, dinner idea came to my mind and I was going to fry it but then thought of garlic chilli mogo and my mouth started watering. None of the Indian restaurants serve that here so I had to m...

nutritious and filling    Much of the African cuisine is not fully discovered as yet by the rest of the world. Though Kenya falls in the Savannah region, many parts of the country grow a rich variety of fruits and vegetables that provide the people of the area with their basic requirements of carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. Colonization by the British Empire and the influx of Indians and Arabs has added variety to the basic dishes prepared in many parts of Kenya. The coast is well known for using coconut milk in most of their dishes, the highlands use lots of potatoes and areas around Lake Victoria use a lot of fish and cassava. Over the years traditional methods and recipes have given way to new versions and more palatable ones for the younger generation. One such dish prepared mostly by the Kikuyus, called Irio has over the years developed its own version, depending on the region and culture.Traditonal irio is prepared by mixing cooked red beans, maize and mashed potat...

full of carbs   Cassava in coconut milk is a famous Kenyan coastal dish and very easy to prepare. Tui varo mogo, mogo na nazi, are some of the common names used. Mogo is cassava and nazi is coconut. In the Gujarati language tui is coconut milk. Kenyan coastal dishes over the years have acquired both Arabic and Indian influence. Cassava is widely used at the coast as a main dish because it is widely grown at the coast, is cheap and full of carbohydrates.   This dish does not need many ingredients. The cassava has to be fresh and not stringy. As I have mentioned previously I really don't know how to choose good cassava. I totally depend on Julius our house help to do that for me. Most say that the cassava harvested during the rainy season is not good. Cassava from different parts of the world is different so follow your instincts. Normally, if your cut off the tip the inside should appear milky white.   Cassava cooked in coconut milk is like a meal on its own. Some have it ...

simply delicious Cassava is known by many names like yuca, tapioca, mogo, manioc root etc. The rains at the coastal region means that the mogo as its called in kiswahili is fresh and when cooked very powdery. My kaki makes this yummy simple mogo and she really doesn't have a name for this dish. I took the liberty of calling it Mogo chaat because that's what it is "chatpatta". I have not eaten this dish at anyone's home here in Kenya or as a street food. Yes mogo cooked in coconut milk is common but not this dish. I think my kaki learnt it from Tanzania where she had lived many years ago. Slight changes have been made to the dish to make it more spicy but otherwise its a very simple dish to prepare. I made this yesterday but without the onion and garlic. Try it, am sure you will love it and its really filling. MOGO CHAAT Serves 6 to 8 1kg mogo, cassava 1½-2 tsp salt 3 - 3½  cups water 1 tsp ginger paste 1-2 tsp chilli paste ¼ cup tamarind paste For serving: 1½ cups...

For all those missing Mombasa Mogo, cassava, tapioca or yuca, call it what you want. Its a tube root which originated in Paraguay and Brazil. It was brought to Africa during the slave trade era. Its a staple diet for the poor and high in starch. Lots of cassava or mogo is grown in the surrounding areas of Mombasa. A visit to the famous Mama Ngina Drive or Lighthouse as most Kenyans call it, is not complete without having some mogo and madaf (coconut water). Vendors stack up their jikos on drums, stones or whatever support they can find and roast mogo. Some fry the mogo pieces and make crisps (chips). A bit of lemon, salt and red chilli is applied to the fried or roasted one and enjoyed while gazing out at the deep blue sea. Hot crisps are drizzled with lemon juice, salt and red chilli and served with a smile. I remember when we were young, visiting Mombasa meant a treat of mogo crisps. At that time it was  served in a huge paper cone, made from old newspaper and we paid only 1shill...

Ekadashi.... feast or fasting? Once again Ekadashi is just round the corner. So am sharing another recipe which can be made on that day. Cassava or tapioca is rich in carbohydrates, Vitamin K and minerals like zinc, magnesium, copper, iron and manganese. You have to be careful when buying cassava. If it has bluish blackish specks in the white part, do not use that cassava. Normally cassava is fried or boiled and eaten. In this ekadashi recipe, I have used it to make nice crispy bhajias or fritters.Cassava in Kenya is called mogo.   Updated: We all prefer to have fried snacks as they taste so much better. However, hubby and I are trying to reduce fried foods. I decided to make mogo bhajias in my magic pan -- the paniyaram. They turned out really nice. Crispy from the outside, and with hardly any oil. It turned out to be a guilt free treat.  The recipe remains the same, but instead of frying them in oil, just put the pan on the cooker on medium heat, drop a drop of oil in each h...